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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: tear · track · club · bark · field · kid · wave · trunk

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. club — for dancing
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. kid — to tease
  6. track — to keep track
  7. tear — from crying
  8. field — for sport
  9. tear — from crying
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. track — a path
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. club — for golf
  14. bark — to shout
  15. track — a song
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. club — a group
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. kid — child
  21. field — farmland
  22. field — a subject
  23. tear — to rip
  24. trunk — of a car

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