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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  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. trunk — of an elephant
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. track — a path
  5. race — humankind
  6. march — the month
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. track — a song
  9. march — music
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. race — a contest
  13. race — the arms race
  14. march — the month
  15. row — a line
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. row — to paddle
  23. mouse — for a computer
  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