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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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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: bat · bark · track · squash · bear · chip · rush · land

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. land — ground
  3. chip — for betting
  4. land — a country
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bat — the animal
  7. chip — to eat
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. squash — the sport
  11. bear — the animal
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. track — a song
  14. rush — hurry
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. bear — the animal
  18. land — to come down
  19. track — to keep track
  20. track — a path
  21. squash — to crush
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. bark — to shout
  24. chip — in a computer

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