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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. lean — thin
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. board — a committee
  7. lean — to bend
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. bark — to shout
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. wake — a trail
  13. pound — a weight
  14. track — a song
  15. board — to get on
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. track — a path
  18. wound — an injury
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. wound — an injury
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. sharp — clever

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