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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: game · pitch · track · bear · bark · spring · coach · tear

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. track — a song
  4. track — to keep track
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. bark — to shout
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. track — a path
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. game — wild animals
  11. game — a match
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. tear — from crying
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. spring — a coil
  18. spring — the season
  19. tear — to rip
  20. tear — from crying
  21. bear — the animal
  22. pitch — completely
  23. bear — the animal
  24. spring — of water

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