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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. track — a song
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. game — wild animals
  5. mark — a trace
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. last — final
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. track — a path
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. track — to keep track
  14. mark — a grade
  15. last — to go on
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. game — a match
  18. fork — in a road

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