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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: rash · perch · rush · key · straw · bark · date · track

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. rush — hurry
  3. key — the most important part
  4. key — for a lock
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. rash — hasty
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. key — in music
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. perch — the fish
  13. track — a path
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. track — a song
  16. rash — a series
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. bark — to shout
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. date — the fruit
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. straw — dry grass

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