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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: fork · snap · game · rash · march · track · kid · bass

  1. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. bass — low music
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. game — wild animals
  6. march — the month
  7. snap — to click
  8. bass — the fish
  9. rash — hasty
  10. rash — a series
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. kid — to tease
  14. march — music
  15. march — the month
  16. game — a match
  17. kid — child
  18. track — a song
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. track — to keep track
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. track — a path
  24. fork — to eat with

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