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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. track — to keep track
  3. snap — to click
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. track — a song
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. rock — music
  8. track — a path
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. bear — the animal
  12. bark — to shout
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. wind — moving air
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. stock — goods
  19. rock — a stone
  20. stock — shares
  21. wind — moving air
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. bear — the animal
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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