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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 120 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.

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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: mine · mark · rush · ground · kid · land · bark · prune

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. mark — a grade
  6. kid — child
  7. ground — crushed
  8. land — a country
  9. mark — a trace
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. land — ground
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. mine — for digging
  15. kid — to tease
  16. prune — to trim
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. land — to come down
  20. ground — a position
  21. ground — the earth
  22. prune — to trim
  23. bark — to shout
  24. mark — to pay attention

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