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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 120 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: spell · rest · rush · race · track · hide · tube · tear

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. spell — magic
  3. track — a path
  4. rest — a break
  5. track — a song
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. tear — from crying
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. tear — from crying
  10. rush — hurry
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. tear — to rip
  13. rest — what's left
  14. tube — the underground
  15. race — humankind
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. rest — what's left
  18. tube — a container
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. race — the arms race
  21. spell — letters
  22. track — to keep track
  23. race — a contest
  24. spell — a short time

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