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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. tube — the underground
  3. race — a contest
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. cue — for pool
  7. race — the arms race
  8. root — of a plant
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. court — for sport
  11. branch — a division
  12. court — of law
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. track — a song
  16. cue — a signal
  17. cue — a hint
  18. root — of a word
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. track — a path
  21. race — humankind
  22. court — of a king
  23. root — the cause
  24. tube — a container

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