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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: clip · row · wake · track · dip · capital · trunk · can

  1. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. row — a line
  3. track — a song
  4. wake — a trail
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. dip — to sink
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. clip — for paper
  9. clip — a video
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. row — to paddle
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. capital — money
  16. track — a path
  17. can — to be able to
  18. clip — to cut
  19. track — to keep track
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. can — a tin
  24. capital — a city

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