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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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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: chair · file · tear · stand · race · fork · wake · track

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. chair — a leader
  3. file — a tool
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. file — a line of people
  6. track — a path
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. wake — a trail
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. fork — in a road
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. stand — to bear
  13. file — a document
  14. race — a contest
  15. tear — from crying
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. race — the arms race
  19. race — humankind
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. track — a song
  22. tear — from crying
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. tear — to rip

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