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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: tube · craft · root · kid · field · kick · track · clip

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. tube — a container
  3. clip — for paper
  4. tube — the underground
  5. track — a song
  6. craft — boats
  7. field — for sport
  8. kick — in football
  9. track — to keep track
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. kid — child
  12. field — farmland
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. clip — to cut
  15. kid — to tease
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. root — of a word
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. clip — a video
  20. field — a subject
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. root — of a plant
  23. root — the cause
  24. craft — a skill

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