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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: leaves · hide · clip · wind · race · row

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. row — a line
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. clip — to cut
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. clip — for paper
  10. race — a contest
  11. race — the arms race
  12. wind — moving air
  13. race — humankind
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. clip — a video
  16. row — to paddle
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. leaves — lets stay

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