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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 116 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: can · game · trunk · pound · track · fork · cell · wake

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. wake — a trail
  7. can — a tin
  8. track — to keep track
  9. fork — in a road
  10. track — a path
  11. track — a song
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. game — wild animals
  15. cell — a phone
  16. can — a tin
  17. pound — a weight
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. game — a match
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. can — to be able to
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. cell — in biology
  24. trunk — of a tree

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