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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: row · rash · game · bound · race · clip · hide · leaves

  1. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. race — humankind
  3. race — the arms race
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. row — a line
  7. clip — for paper
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. rash — hasty
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. bound — tied together
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. bound — certain
  14. race — a contest
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. clip — a video
  17. row — to paddle
  18. rash — a series
  19. clip — to cut
  20. game — wild animals
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. game — a match
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. bound — obliged

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