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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 120 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: march · track · arm · game · stand · fork · rest · staff

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. stand — to bear
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. staff — employees
  7. game — wild animals
  8. rest — a break
  9. staff — employees
  10. rest — what's left
  11. fork — in a road
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. track — a path
  16. staff — a stick
  17. track — a song
  18. rest — what's left
  19. march — the month
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. march — music
  22. game — a match
  23. march — the month
  24. stand — on your feet

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