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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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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: tear · track · branch · race · current · tube · wind · bark

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. tear — from crying
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. current — happening now
  5. branch — a division
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. race — the arms race
  8. tube — a container
  9. current — electric
  10. tear — from crying
  11. track — a song
  12. race — humankind
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wind — moving air
  15. current — of water
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. tear — to rip
  18. race — a contest
  19. tube — the underground
  20. bark — to shout
  21. track — to keep track
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. track — a path
  24. branch — of a bank

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