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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: fall · club · land · track · pop · race · wax · cap

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. cap — of ice
  3. land — to come down
  4. pop — music
  5. track — to keep track
  6. fall — to drop
  7. track — a path
  8. cap — a lid
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. track — a song
  11. fall — the season
  12. club — for dancing
  13. fall — to drop
  14. club — a group
  15. cap — a hat
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. race — the arms race
  18. race — humankind
  19. pop — soda
  20. land — ground
  21. club — for golf
  22. pop — to visit
  23. land — a country
  24. wax — to grow

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