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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · track · fork · rule · mate · trunk · coach · field

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. mate — a partner
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. field — a subject
  5. march — the month
  6. fork — in a road
  7. track — a song
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. rule — government
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. track — a path
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. mate — a friend
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. rule — a law
  18. field — farmland
  19. track — to keep track
  20. mate — to breed
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. march — the month
  24. march — music

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