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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 120 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 · clip · mark · hand · wake · stock · fork · race

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. track — a song
  4. stock — shares
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. stock — goods
  7. track — a path
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. hand — in cards
  10. clip — to cut
  11. track — to keep track
  12. fork — in a road
  13. race — humankind
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. wake — a trail
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. mark — a grade
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. mark — a trace
  20. race — the arms race
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. clip — a video
  23. hand — help
  24. race — a contest

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