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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: last · ball · mark · leaves · race · kick · wind · fall

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. mark — a grade
  6. fall — to drop
  7. last — to go on
  8. wind — moving air
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. fall — to drop
  12. fall — the season
  13. wind — moving air
  14. mark — a trace
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. last — finally
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. last — final
  20. race — the arms race
  21. kick — in football
  22. race — humankind
  23. ball — a dance
  24. ball — a great time

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