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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: trunk · prune · mark · fork · fan · pop · track · last

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. prune — to trim
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. track — to keep track
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. pop — to visit
  10. mark — a grade
  11. last — finally
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. prune — to trim
  15. fork — in a road
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. mark — a trace
  18. track — a song
  19. last — final
  20. track — a path
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. pop — soda
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. pop — music

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