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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: court · staff · net · fork · march · row · mark · race

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. fork — in a road
  3. row — to paddle
  4. mark — a trace
  5. mark — a grade
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. staff — employees
  8. net — after costs
  9. court — of law
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. net — in sport
  12. staff — a stick
  13. row — a line
  14. march — the month
  15. court — of a king
  16. march — music
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. race — a contest
  19. net — for catching
  20. race — the arms race
  21. court — for sport
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. staff — employees
  24. march — the month

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