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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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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: cold · kick · track · race · stick · face · fork · pound

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. face — to confront
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. race — a contest
  6. kick — in football
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. track — a path
  10. track — to keep track
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. fork — in a road
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. pound — a weight
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. race — humankind
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. track — a song
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. cold — an illness
  21. race — the arms race
  22. cold — not warm
  23. face — part of the head
  24. face — to point toward

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