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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: trunk · track · bat · rash · content · bark · firm · rush

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. firm — decided
  3. rush — hurry
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. track — a song
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. bat — the animal
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. bark — to shout
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. rash — a series
  13. rash — hasty
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. content — the amount
  17. content — happy
  18. firm — a company
  19. track — to keep track
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. firm — steady
  24. bark — of a tree

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