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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: hide · season · race · tear · last · wound · chest · craft

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. tear — to rip
  4. last — finally
  5. tear — from crying
  6. tear — from crying
  7. wound — an injury
  8. race — humankind
  9. chest — of your body
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. season — in sport
  12. last — final
  13. chest — of your body
  14. wound — an injury
  15. craft — boats
  16. season — of the year
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. race — a contest
  19. craft — a skill
  20. chest — a box
  21. last — to go on
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. 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