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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. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  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. bank — for money
  2. tube — a container
  3. tube — the underground
  4. track — to keep track
  5. cold — an illness
  6. track — a path
  7. mate — to breed
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. march — the month
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. bank — for money
  14. mate — a partner
  15. mate — a friend
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. march — the month
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. march — music
  20. cold — not warm
  21. bank — of a river
  22. track — a song
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  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