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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 120 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: bark · stem · pitcher · track · net · branch · bowl · wound

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. stem — to come from
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. track — a path
  6. net — after costs
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. wound — an injury
  9. bark — to shout
  10. branch — a division
  11. net — in sport
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. wound — an injury
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. net — for catching
  21. track — a song
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. track — to keep track

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