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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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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: dip · race · hand · track · clip · rock · drill · roll

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. track — to keep track
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. hand — in cards
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. rock — a stone
  7. drill — a practice
  8. hand — help
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. roll — a cake
  12. rock — music
  13. track — a path
  14. race — a contest
  15. clip — to cut
  16. track — a song
  17. dip — to sink
  18. clip — for paper
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. roll — a list
  21. drill — army training
  22. race — the arms race
  23. clip — a video
  24. drill — the 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