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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: track · drill · tear · last · lash · pass · race · prune

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. track — a song
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. track — to keep track
  5. prune — to trim
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. tear — to rip
  8. drill — the tool
  9. race — a contest
  10. last — final
  11. race — humankind
  12. track — a path
  13. last — finally
  14. prune — to trim
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. tear — from crying
  17. drill — a practice
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. last — to go on
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. race — the arms race
  23. pass — a permit
  24. drill — army training

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