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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.

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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: wound · tear · hide · perch · bark · season · ground · bay

  1. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — to keep at bay
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. wound — an injury
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. bark — to shout
  7. ground — a position
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. season — of the year
  11. wound — an injury
  12. tear — to rip
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. tear — from crying
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. ground — the earth
  18. tear — from crying
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. ground — crushed
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. perch — the fish
  24. season — in sport

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