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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 120 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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Word bank
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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: race · march · present · firm · lie · rash · fall · ground

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. fall — to drop
  3. march — the month
  4. march — music
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. fall — the season
  7. race — a contest
  8. ground — the earth
  9. firm — decided
  10. rash — hasty
  11. ground — a position
  12. ground — crushed
  13. race — the arms race
  14. present — the time now
  15. rash — a series
  16. present — a gift
  17. lie — to recline
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. fall — to drop
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. race — humankind
  22. present — there
  23. firm — a company
  24. march — the month

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