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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. fall — to drop
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. track — a song
  5. field — for sport
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. cell — in biology
  8. race — the arms race
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. field — farmland
  15. cell — a phone
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. fall — the season
  18. track — to keep track
  19. race — a contest
  20. field — a subject
  21. fall — to drop
  22. track — a path
  23. wake — a trail
  24. leaves — lets stay

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