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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 116 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: tear · lash · wake · rash · hide · ground · perch · band

  1. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. tear — to rip
  5. rash — a series
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. perch — the fish
  9. tear — from crying
  10. band — a music group
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. ground — the earth
  15. rash — hasty
  16. tear — from crying
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. ground — crushed
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. ground — a position
  24. band — a ring

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