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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: field · capital · race · rule · mate · fork · track · march

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. march — the month
  3. capital — a city
  4. rule — government
  5. march — the month
  6. march — music
  7. track — to keep track
  8. race — the arms race
  9. field — farmland
  10. mate — a partner
  11. fork — in a road
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. field — for sport
  14. track — a song
  15. rule — a law
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. race — humankind
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. capital — money
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. field — a subject
  22. mate — to breed
  23. race — a contest
  24. mate — a friend

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