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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: cue · track · bat · land · cold · nail · trunk · fork

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. cue — for pool
  3. track — a song
  4. cue — a signal
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. track — a path
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. bat — the animal
  13. cue — a hint
  14. track — to keep track
  15. land — to come down
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. cold — not warm
  18. land — a country
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. cold — an illness
  22. land — ground
  23. fork — in a road
  24. nail — for a hammer

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