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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 116 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: degree · swing · deal · lie · bark · track · bat · bear

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. bat — the animal
  3. track — a song
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. degree — from a university
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. degree — an amount
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. track — to keep track
  13. bark — to shout
  14. degree — temperature
  15. swing — to play on
  16. swing — music
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. bear — the animal
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. deal — to handle
  21. lie — to recline
  22. bear — the animal
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. swing — in golf

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