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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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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: mug · tube · race · rock · clip · track

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. race — the arms race
  3. race — a contest
  4. tube — a container
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. race — humankind
  7. mug — to rob
  8. mug — a cup
  9. mug — a face
  10. track — a song
  11. clip — to cut
  12. rock — a stone
  13. clip — for paper
  14. tube — the underground
  15. track — to keep track
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. track — a path
  18. clip — a video

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