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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 116 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: clip · race · stem · track · rash · staff · pop · fan

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. race — humankind
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. staff — a stick
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. clip — a video
  8. pop — music
  9. rash — hasty
  10. track — a path
  11. pop — soda
  12. track — to keep track
  13. staff — employees
  14. pop — to visit
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. clip — to cut
  17. race — a contest
  18. rash — a series
  19. track — a song
  20. staff — employees
  21. clip — for paper
  22. race — the arms race
  23. stem — to come from
  24. fan — to cool the air

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