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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: race · lean · hide · dip · cold · track · chest · cap

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  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. track — to keep track
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. cold — not warm
  4. race — humankind
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. chest — of your body
  7. track — a path
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. cap — a lid
  10. lean — to bend
  11. chest — of your body
  12. lean — thin
  13. dip — to sink
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. track — a song
  16. chest — a box
  17. cap — of ice
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. cap — a hat
  21. race — the arms race
  22. cold — an illness
  23. race — a contest
  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