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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: track · wake · bulb · root · field · bay · clip · file

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. bulb — for light
  3. track — a path
  4. clip — to cut
  5. file — a line of people
  6. wake — a trail
  7. field — farmland
  8. clip — a video
  9. field — a subject
  10. track — a song
  11. track — to keep track
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. root — of a plant
  15. file — a document
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. field — for sport
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. root — the cause
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. root — of a word
  22. bulb — for light
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. file — a tool

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