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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: last · court · bass · track · racket · trunk · fork · pitcher

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. track — a song
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. court — of law
  6. last — final
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. bass — low music
  9. court — of a king
  10. track — a path
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. last — finally
  13. fork — in a road
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. court — for sport
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. track — to keep track
  22. bass — the fish
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. fork — a garden tool

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