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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: bark · saw · wake · drill · bear · ground · net · cue

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. cue — a signal
  3. bear — the animal
  4. bark — to shout
  5. wake — a trail
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. bear — the animal
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. net — in sport
  12. net — for catching
  13. drill — a practice
  14. saw — the tool
  15. drill — the tool
  16. net — after costs
  17. cue — for pool
  18. cue — a hint
  19. ground — the earth
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. saw — the tool
  22. drill — army training
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. ground — a position

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