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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. track — to keep track
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. wind — moving air
  6. field — a subject
  7. bark — to shout
  8. pound — a weight
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. net — after costs
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. field — farmland
  14. branch — a division
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. wind — moving air
  17. track — a song
  18. net — in sport
  19. track — a path
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. field — for sport
  23. net — for catching
  24. pound — to hit hard

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