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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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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: rock · pound · deal · race · degree · track · bark · prune

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. rock — a stone
  8. prune — to trim
  9. pound — a weight
  10. bark — to shout
  11. race — the arms race
  12. degree — an amount
  13. rock — music
  14. track — a song
  15. prune — to trim
  16. track — a path
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. deal — to handle
  19. degree — temperature
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. track — to keep track
  22. race — a contest
  23. race — humankind
  24. pound — for dogs

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