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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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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: fork · bay · track · cold · field · stick · racket · pitcher

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. fork — in a road
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. field — farmland
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. cold — an illness
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. track — a path
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. field — for sport
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. field — a subject
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. track — a song
  24. cold — not warm

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