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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: track · fan · rash · mark · clip · court · race · date

  1. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. rash — hasty
  3. court — of law
  4. race — the arms race
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. court — of a king
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. court — for sport
  10. track — a path
  11. date — the fruit
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. track — to keep track
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. mark — a trace
  16. clip — for paper
  17. race — a contest
  18. race — humankind
  19. track — a song
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. mark — a grade
  22. clip — a video
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. clip — to cut

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