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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: march · cold · track · cap · club · fork · lash · land

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. fork — in a road
  3. club — a group
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. land — a country
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. club — for golf
  8. cold — an illness
  9. cap — a hat
  10. cap — of ice
  11. march — music
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. march — the month
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. cold — not warm
  16. club — for dancing
  17. cap — a lid
  18. land — ground
  19. track — a song
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. land — to come down
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. track — to keep track
  24. march — the month

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