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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: fall · fork · pass · track · root · face · bat · pound

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. face — to point toward
  3. fork — in a road
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. fall — the season
  7. bat — the animal
  8. fall — to drop
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. root — of a plant
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. track — a path
  14. pass — a permit
  15. face — part of the head
  16. pound — a weight
  17. track — a song
  18. fall — to drop
  19. face — to confront
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. root — the cause
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. root — of a word
  24. fork — to eat with

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