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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 · season · jam · content · fork · race · roll · prune

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. prune — to trim
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. race — a contest
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. track — to keep track
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. fork — in a road
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. content — happy
  11. roll — a cake
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. content — the amount
  14. race — the arms race
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. track — a song
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. race — humankind
  21. season — of the year
  22. season — in sport
  23. roll — a list
  24. prune — to trim

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