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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: fork · race · band · lie · stock · fall · rash · pit

  1. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. race — humankind
  5. rash — hasty
  6. rash — a series
  7. fall — to drop
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. fall — the season
  12. stock — shares
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. fall — to drop
  15. lie — to recline
  16. fork — in a road
  17. band — a music group
  18. band — a ring
  19. pit — in a race
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. race — a contest
  22. stock — goods
  23. race — the arms race
  24. pit — a hole

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