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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. bound — obliged
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. land — to come down
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. bark — to shout
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. tear — to rip
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. bound — tied together
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. track — a song
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. track — a path
  16. bound — certain
  17. tear — from crying
  18. land — ground
  19. tear — from crying
  20. pound — a weight
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. land — a country

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