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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: craft · pound · rash · season · bark · track · last · row

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. season — of the year
  3. pound — a weight
  4. bark — to shout
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. row — a line
  7. season — in sport
  8. row — to paddle
  9. track — a song
  10. track — a path
  11. rash — hasty
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. last — finally
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. last — final
  18. track — to keep track
  19. last — to go on
  20. craft — boats
  21. rash — a series
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. craft — a skill

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