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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: lie · bulb · mark · fall · track · pound · race · clip

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. fall — to drop
  3. race — a contest
  4. mark — a trace
  5. track — a path
  6. clip — to cut
  7. track — to keep track
  8. race — humankind
  9. track — a song
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. fall — to drop
  13. clip — for paper
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. lie — to recline
  16. fall — the season
  17. mark — a grade
  18. bulb — for light
  19. race — the arms race
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. pound — a weight
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. clip — a video
  24. bulb — for light

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