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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
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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 · spell · mark · ground · capital · lie · pitcher · rash

  1. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. spell — letters
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. ground — a position
  6. ground — the earth
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. capital — a city
  10. bark — to shout
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. ground — crushed
  13. spell — magic
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. lie — to recline
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. spell — a short time
  18. rash — hasty
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. mark — a trace
  21. mark — a grade
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. capital — money
  24. lie — an untruth

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