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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: sharp · spring · track · bark · wake · pop · wound · wave

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. track — to keep track
  3. pop — music
  4. track — a path
  5. spring — of water
  6. wake — a trail
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. spring — a coil
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. pop — soda
  16. spring — the season
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. pop — to visit
  19. bark — to shout
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. track — a song
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. sharp — clever

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