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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: plane · race · tear · season · kid · track

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. tear — from crying
  4. track — to keep track
  5. track — a path
  6. tear — to rip
  7. kid — to tease
  8. season — of the year
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. kid — child
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. race — humankind
  13. tear — from crying
  14. plane — a tool
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. race — a contest
  17. season — in sport
  18. track — a song

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