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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: ground · fork · cue · track · saw · mine

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. cue — a hint
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. ground — the earth
  8. saw — the tool
  9. cue — for pool
  10. fork — in a road
  11. track — a path
  12. ground — crushed
  13. mine — for digging
  14. saw — the tool
  15. cue — a signal
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. track — a song
  18. track — to keep track

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