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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: tear · race · root · band · lash · saw · kick · wake

  1. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. band — a ring
  3. race — the arms race
  4. saw — the tool
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. tear — to rip
  8. kick — in football
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. saw — the tool
  11. race — humankind
  12. tear — from crying
  13. race — a contest
  14. tear — from crying
  15. root — of a word
  16. root — of a plant
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. root — the cause
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. wake — a trail
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. band — a music group

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