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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: pop · rule · tube · degree · straw · leaves · track · bark

  1. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. tube — a container
  3. track — a path
  4. pop — to visit
  5. degree — an amount
  6. track — a song
  7. degree — temperature
  8. rule — government
  9. pop — soda
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. rule — a law
  15. bark — to shout
  16. degree — from a university
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. track — to keep track
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. tube — the underground
  22. pop — music
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. rule — to rule out

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