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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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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. game — a match
  4. march — the month
  5. march — music
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. cold — not warm
  8. craft — boats
  9. march — the month
  10. cold — an illness
  11. press — a publisher
  12. press — to push
  13. track — a song
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. fork — in a road
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. press — newspapers
  18. track — a path
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. game — wild animals
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. craft — a skill

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