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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 · date · game · ground · race · rush · roll · hide

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. race — humankind
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. roll — a cake
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. ground — crushed
  8. race — the arms race
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. game — wild animals
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. roll — a list
  17. rush — hurry
  18. ground — the earth
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. race — a contest
  21. date — the fruit
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. game — a match
  24. roll — on a roll

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