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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: saw · race · dip · field · fork · season · track · hand

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. track — a path
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. track — a song
  6. hand — help
  7. saw — the tool
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. saw — the tool
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. race — the arms race
  12. race — humankind
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. race — a contest
  15. field — a subject
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. field — for sport
  18. fork — in a road
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. season — in sport
  21. hand — in cards
  22. field — farmland
  23. dip — to sink
  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