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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: season · saw · deal · rash · hide · kid · race · wax

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. kid — to tease
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. saw — the tool
  5. race — humankind
  6. kid — child
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. race — a contest
  9. saw — the tool
  10. rash — hasty
  11. deal — to handle
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. race — the arms race
  14. wax — to grow
  15. season — of the year
  16. season — in sport
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. rash — a series
  23. hide — to keep secret
  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