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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: club · track · deal · pound · hand · season · lash · bark

  1. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. track — a path
  5. season — of the year
  6. hand — help
  7. club — for dancing
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. club — a group
  10. pound — a weight
  11. track — to keep track
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. deal — to handle
  16. club — for golf
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. season — in sport
  19. bark — to shout
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. hand — in cards
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. season — to add flavour

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