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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: spring · wake · root · club · game · track · clip · lie

  1. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — the cause
  2. track — a song
  3. track — to keep track
  4. club — for golf
  5. club — for dancing
  6. track — a path
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. spring — the season
  9. lie — to recline
  10. clip — a video
  11. club — a group
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. root — of a plant
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. wake — a trail
  16. root — of a word
  17. clip — to cut
  18. game — a match
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. clip — for paper
  21. spring — a coil
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. spring — of water
  24. game — wild animals

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