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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: squash · season · clip · last · track · mark · race · fork

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. season — in sport
  3. clip — a video
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. track — to keep track
  6. mark — a grade
  7. squash — to crush
  8. season — of the year
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. last — to go on
  11. fork — in a road
  12. race — a contest
  13. race — the arms race
  14. last — finally
  15. clip — to cut
  16. squash — the sport
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. mark — a trace
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. race — humankind
  22. track — a song
  23. track — a path
  24. last — final

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