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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. track — a path
  3. wind — moving air
  4. bark — to shout
  5. staff — employees
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. field — a subject
  8. rash — hasty
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. field — farmland
  11. bound — tied together
  12. staff — employees
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. bound — certain
  18. field — for sport
  19. bound — obliged
  20. track — to keep track
  21. wind — moving air
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. rash — a series
  24. staff — a stick

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