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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: bark · bore · bass · coach · lean · stem · track · race

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. bore — to tire
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. bass — the fish
  5. track — a song
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. track — a path
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. stem — to come from
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. race — humankind
  15. race — the arms race
  16. bark — to shout
  17. lean — thin
  18. lean — to bend
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. bore — to drill
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. race — a contest
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. bass — low music

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