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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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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: prune · cap · rash · track · wake · race · current · root

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. current — electric
  3. rash — hasty
  4. race — humankind
  5. prune — to trim
  6. root — of a plant
  7. race — the arms race
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. prune — to trim
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. wake — a trail
  12. track — a path
  13. race — a contest
  14. current — of water
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. root — the cause
  17. track — to keep track
  18. current — happening now
  19. cap — of ice
  20. rash — a series
  21. track — a song
  22. root — of a word
  23. cap — a hat
  24. cap — a lid

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