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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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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 · ground · bear · bound · band · mine · bore · stem

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. ground — a position
  3. ground — the earth
  4. bound — certain
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. ground — crushed
  9. mine — for digging
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. bound — tied together
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. bore — to drill
  14. bark — to shout
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. bore — to tire
  17. bear — the animal
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. bear — the animal
  20. stem — to come from
  21. band — a ring
  22. bound — obliged
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. stem — of a plant

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