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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: fall · fork · cabinet · ground · race · tear

  1. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. fall — to drop
  3. race — a contest
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. ground — a position
  6. tear — to rip
  7. fall — to drop
  8. race — humankind
  9. tear — from crying
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. ground — crushed
  12. ground — the earth
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. fall — the season
  15. fork — in a road
  16. tear — from crying
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. race — the arms race

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