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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: clip · track · race · wave · degree · stick

  1. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. race — the arms race
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. track — a path
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. degree — from a university
  8. clip — to cut
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. clip — a video
  13. track — to keep track
  14. race — a contest
  15. degree — an amount
  16. race — humankind
  17. clip — for paper
  18. degree — temperature

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