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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: club · trunk · track · rash · straw · bark · spell · rest

  1. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. track — a path
  5. bark — to shout
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. spell — a short time
  8. rest — what's left
  9. spell — magic
  10. club — for golf
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. spell — letters
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. track — to keep track
  15. rash — a series
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. club — for dancing
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. rest — what's left
  22. club — a group
  23. rest — a break
  24. rash — hasty

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