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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: swing · clip · bass · track · club · charge · wake · root

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. charge — a price
  3. track — a path
  4. clip — a video
  5. root — of a word
  6. bass — low music
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. club — for dancing
  9. swing — in golf
  10. clip — for paper
  11. club — for golf
  12. clip — to cut
  13. charge — in control
  14. bass — the fish
  15. track — a song
  16. club — a group
  17. root — of a plant
  18. swing — to play on
  19. swing — music
  20. wake — a trail
  21. charge — electricity
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. root — the cause
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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