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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: march · net · race · trunk · fork · wake · track · stem

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. net — for catching
  4. race — a contest
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. stem — to come from
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. march — the month
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. march — music
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. track — a song
  15. track — a path
  16. race — the arms race
  17. march — the month
  18. net — in sport
  19. fork — in a road
  20. wake — a trail
  21. race — humankind
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. 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