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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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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. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. 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. track — to keep track
  2. date — the fruit
  3. object — a thing
  4. march — the month
  5. track — a path
  6. object — to protest
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. content — happy
  10. object — an aim
  11. content — the amount
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. bark — to shout
  14. pop — to visit
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. track — a song
  18. march — music
  19. march — the month
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. pop — soda
  23. pop — music
  24. 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