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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: content · craft · march · wake · trunk · bat · track · mark

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. track — to keep track
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. wake — a trail
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. mark — a trace
  8. track — a path
  9. craft — boats
  10. mark — a grade
  11. content — the amount
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. march — music
  14. bat — the animal
  15. track — a song
  16. craft — a skill
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. march — the month
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. march — the month
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. content — happy

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