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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: bulb · spring · bark · squash · wound · straw · stand · track

  1. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. wound — an injury
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. track — a path
  5. track — to keep track
  6. bulb — for light
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. spring — the season
  9. bark — to shout
  10. squash — to crush
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. track — a song
  13. squash — the sport
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. spring — a coil
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. bulb — for light
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. spring — of water
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. wound — an injury

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