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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: dip · wind · field · race · mate · rash · tear · net

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. mate — to breed
  3. mate — a friend
  4. tear — from crying
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. race — a contest
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. rash — hasty
  9. rash — a series
  10. wind — moving air
  11. field — farmland
  12. race — humankind
  13. dip — to sink
  14. tear — from crying
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. field — a subject
  17. field — for sport
  18. net — for catching
  19. net — after costs
  20. wind — moving air
  21. mate — a partner
  22. race — the arms race
  23. net — in sport
  24. dip — a sauce

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