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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: pop · track · race · file · wave · fall · tear · root

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. fall — to drop
  3. tear — from crying
  4. root — of a plant
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. tear — from crying
  7. file — a document
  8. root — the cause
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. pop — soda
  12. race — humankind
  13. track — a path
  14. track — to keep track
  15. pop — music
  16. track — a song
  17. root — of a word
  18. fall — to drop
  19. tear — to rip
  20. fall — the season
  21. pop — to visit
  22. file — a tool
  23. race — the arms race
  24. file — a line of people

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