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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: branch · bear · fine · wound · bark · track · cold · stand

  1. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. track — to keep track
  3. stand — to bear
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. fine — all right
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. track — a song
  8. bear — the animal
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. cold — an illness
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. fine — high quality
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. branch — a division
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. wound — an injury
  21. track — a path
  22. cold — not warm
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. bark — to shout

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