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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: root · row · tear · track · clip · object · ball · wave

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. row — a line
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. tear — from crying
  5. ball — a dance
  6. object — an aim
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. clip — to cut
  9. ball — a great time
  10. clip — a video
  11. root — of a plant
  12. root — the cause
  13. track — a path
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. object — to protest
  18. root — of a word
  19. tear — to rip
  20. track — a song
  21. tear — from crying
  22. clip — for paper
  23. row — to paddle
  24. object — a thing

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