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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 120 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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. prune — to trim
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. prune — to trim
  7. bark — to shout
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. track — a song
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. fork — in a road
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. tube — the underground
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. tube — a container
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. track — a path

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