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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: pop · net · clip · race · wax · track · leaves · chest

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. race — humankind
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. chest — of your body
  6. chest — of your body
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. track — a path
  10. clip — for paper
  11. net — after costs
  12. race — a contest
  13. race — the arms race
  14. track — a song
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. clip — to cut
  17. pop — music
  18. track — to keep track
  19. pop — soda
  20. net — in sport
  21. wax — to grow
  22. chest — a box
  23. pop — to visit
  24. net — for catching

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