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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bark · mine · cue · lie · snap · ground · bear · spell

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. lie — to recline
  3. spell — letters
  4. mine — for digging
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. cue — a hint
  9. spell — a short time
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. ground — the earth
  13. cue — a signal
  14. snap — to click
  15. ground — crushed
  16. bark — to shout
  17. bear — the animal
  18. cue — for pool
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. spell — magic
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. bear — the animal
  24. snap — to speak sharply

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com