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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: fork · squash · fine · bark · land · trunk · race · track

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. fine — all right
  3. squash — to crush
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. fork — in a road
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. land — to come down
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. squash — the sport
  12. bark — to shout
  13. race — a contest
  14. fine — high quality
  15. track — a song
  16. land — ground
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. track — a path
  19. land — a country
  20. race — the arms race
  21. race — humankind
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  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