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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 116 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 · mark · race · craft · march · fan · trunk · fork

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  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. fork — to eat with
  2. craft — a skill
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. march — the month
  5. mark — a grade
  6. race — a contest
  7. craft — boats
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. march — the month
  14. race — the arms race
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. race — humankind
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. cold — not warm
  20. cold — an illness
  21. fork — in a road
  22. mark — a trace
  23. cold — the Cold War
  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