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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: bear · chest · track · pop · bark · date · row · ruler

  1. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. track — a song
  5. chest — a box
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. chest — of your body
  8. track — a path
  9. bear — the animal
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. pop — music
  12. pop — soda
  13. bark — to shout
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. pop — to visit
  16. track — to keep track
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. chest — of your body
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. date — the fruit
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. row — to paddle
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. row — a line

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