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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 · pitch · perch · rash · season · wound · track · row

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. pitch — completely
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. track — a path
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. perch — the fish
  7. rash — hasty
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. season — of the year
  12. season — in sport
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. row — a line
  15. track — to keep track
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. rash — a series
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — an injury
  22. row — to paddle
  23. track — a song
  24. pitch — a sports field

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