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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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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: racket · track · fork · race · nail · kid · tear · last

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  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. racket — for tennis
  2. last — final
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. last — finally
  6. tear — from crying
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. track — a path
  9. tear — from crying
  10. race — humankind
  11. tear — to rip
  12. race — a contest
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. track — a song
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. kid — child
  17. track — to keep track
  18. last — to go on
  19. fork — in a road
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. kid — to tease
  23. race — the arms race
  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