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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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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 · mark · present · track · race · field · bark · file

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. present — a gift
  3. file — a document
  4. race — a contest
  5. field — for sport
  6. file — a line of people
  7. mark — a grade
  8. field — a subject
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. track — to keep track
  11. march — the month
  12. track — a path
  13. track — a song
  14. mark — a trace
  15. march — music
  16. present — there
  17. race — the arms race
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. present — the time now
  21. file — a tool
  22. field — farmland
  23. bark — to shout
  24. race — humankind

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