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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: hand · track · rash · capital · toast · season · wound · hide

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. hand — help
  5. capital — money
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. season — in sport
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. rash — a series
  11. capital — a city
  12. season — of the year
  13. wound — an injury
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. track — a path
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. track — a song
  20. wound — an injury
  21. hand — in cards
  22. toast — bread
  23. track — to keep track
  24. season — to add flavour

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