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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: race · tear · leaves · hide · track · lash

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. track — to keep track
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. track — a path
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. track — a song
  10. tear — from crying
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. race — a contest
  14. tear — from crying
  15. race — the arms race
  16. race — humankind
  17. tear — to rip
  18. hide — to keep secret

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