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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: safe · drill · race · board · fall · face · spring · capital

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. capital — money
  3. spring — a coil
  4. drill — a practice
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. board — to get on
  7. face — to confront
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. fall — to drop
  10. face — part of the head
  11. race — a contest
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. spring — of water
  14. fall — the season
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. drill — the tool
  18. face — to point toward
  19. drill — army training
  20. race — the arms race
  21. capital — a city
  22. fall — to drop
  23. spring — the season
  24. race — humankind

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