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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 · bark · bat · track · rule · mine · mate · straw

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. bark — to shout
  5. bat — the animal
  6. mate — to breed
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. rule — government
  10. mine — for digging
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. rule — a law
  13. mate — a partner
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. bear — the animal
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. track — a song
  18. mate — a friend
  19. track — a path
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. track — to keep track
  22. bear — the animal
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. mine — an explosive

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