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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: board · mine · staff · last · clip · root · race · track

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. board — to get on
  3. race — the arms race
  4. root — of a plant
  5. track — a path
  6. clip — for paper
  7. track — a song
  8. last — to go on
  9. staff — employees
  10. clip — to cut
  11. staff — employees
  12. track — to keep track
  13. race — humankind
  14. race — a contest
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. last — final
  17. board — a committee
  18. staff — a stick
  19. root — the cause
  20. last — finally
  21. root — of a word
  22. clip — a video
  23. mine — for digging
  24. mine — an explosive

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