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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: track · race · fork · bat · bulb · rash · board · capital

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. race — the arms race
  3. track — to keep track
  4. bulb — for light
  5. rash — hasty
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. rash — a series
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. track — a song
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. board — to get on
  12. track — a path
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. capital — a city
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. race — a contest
  19. race — humankind
  20. capital — money
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. bulb — for light
  24. fork — in a road

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