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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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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 · race · band · clip · kick · perch · trunk · chair

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. chair — a leader
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. track — to keep track
  6. race — the arms race
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. clip — for paper
  9. clip — to cut
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. band — a ring
  12. clip — a video
  13. race — a contest
  14. track — a song
  15. band — a music group
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. perch — the fish
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. track — a path
  24. race — humankind

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