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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 120 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: bark · squash · track · wound · bass · leaves · key · spring

  1. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. bass — the fish
  3. wound — an injury
  4. squash — the sport
  5. bass — low music
  6. track — a path
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. key — the most important part
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. key — in music
  12. wound — an injury
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. squash — to crush
  15. key — for a lock
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. track — to keep track
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. spring — of water
  21. spring — a coil
  22. track — a song
  23. spring — the season
  24. bark — to shout

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