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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: season · present · tube · track · wake · perch · rock · bark

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. rock — music
  4. season — of the year
  5. track — to keep track
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. track — a path
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. wake — a trail
  11. present — the time now
  12. tube — the underground
  13. tube — a container
  14. rock — a stone
  15. bark — to shout
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. present — there
  18. perch — the fish
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. track — a song
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. season — in sport

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