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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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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 · fall · pit · wind · track · cell · coach · fine

  1. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. fall — the season
  3. track — a path
  4. wind — moving air
  5. pit — a hole
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. track — to keep track
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. bark — to shout
  10. fine — all right
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. pit — in a race
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. cell — in biology
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. cell — a phone
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. fine — high quality
  21. fall — to drop
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. wind — moving air

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