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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 · clip · mug · wake · spring · tube · leaves · spell

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. clip — for paper
  4. track — a song
  5. mug — to rob
  6. clip — a video
  7. tube — a container
  8. mug — a face
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. track — to keep track
  11. spring — a coil
  12. spring — of water
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. spell — a short time
  15. spring — the season
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. spell — magic
  18. mug — a cup
  19. clip — to cut
  20. tube — the underground
  21. wake — a trail
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. spell — letters

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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