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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: cold · spell · rush · fork · net · track · arm · wake

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. track — to keep track
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. spell — a short time
  6. net — for catching
  7. fork — in a road
  8. cold — an illness
  9. wake — a trail
  10. rush — hurry
  11. spell — letters
  12. track — a song
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. cold — not warm
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. spell — magic
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. net — after costs
  20. track — a path
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. net — in sport

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