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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: track · trunk · present · march · rash · pound · snap · file

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. rash — a series
  3. march — music
  4. file — a tool
  5. rash — hasty
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. present — the time now
  8. track — to keep track
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. file — a document
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. snap — to click
  14. march — the month
  15. track — a song
  16. pound — a weight
  17. march — the month
  18. track — a path
  19. present — a gift
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. file — a line of people
  23. present — there
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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