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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: cold · race · mark · lean · fall · arm · lie · cap

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. lean — to bend
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. fall — to drop
  5. cap — a hat
  6. fall — to drop
  7. fall — the season
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. lean — thin
  15. race — humankind
  16. lie — to recline
  17. mark — a trace
  18. mark — a grade
  19. race — a contest
  20. cap — a lid
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. race — the arms race
  23. cap — of ice
  24. cold — an illness

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