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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 120 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: staff · pound · track · clip · content · wake · race · rock

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. track — to keep track
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. content — happy
  5. wake — a trail
  6. rock — a stone
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. staff — employees
  9. pound — a weight
  10. clip — for paper
  11. clip — to cut
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. track — a song
  15. track — a path
  16. staff — a stick
  17. rock — music
  18. clip — a video
  19. race — humankind
  20. content — the amount
  21. staff — employees
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. race — a contest
  24. race — the arms race

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