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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: race · hide · lash · ball · last · saw · object · wound

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. last — to go on
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. object — to protest
  5. race — the arms race
  6. race — a contest
  7. saw — the tool
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. saw — the tool
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. last — final
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. ball — a dance
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. object — a thing
  19. wound — an injury
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. last — finally
  22. ball — a great time
  23. object — an aim
  24. race — humankind

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