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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: mark · mate · clip · date · bulb · bark · drill · track

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. mate — a friend
  3. mark — a trace
  4. clip — to cut
  5. drill — the tool
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. date — the fruit
  8. track — a song
  9. clip — a video
  10. mate — a partner
  11. track — to keep track
  12. clip — for paper
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. bark — to shout
  15. mate — to breed
  16. drill — a practice
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. drill — army training
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. bulb — for light
  23. mark — a grade
  24. bulb — for light

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