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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: branch · bass · hide · tear · rash · stem · race · lash

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  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. hide — animal skin
  2. race — a contest
  3. bass — low music
  4. rash — hasty
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. race — humankind
  7. tear — from crying
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. tear — from crying
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. bass — the fish
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. tear — to rip
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. race — the arms race
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. stem — to come from
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. rash — a series
  23. branch — a division
  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