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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: firm · hide · fall · race · clip · chair · squash · root

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  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. fall — to drop
  2. firm — decided
  3. race — the arms race
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. clip — for paper
  6. fall — to drop
  7. squash — to crush
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. clip — to cut
  10. root — of a word
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. root — of a plant
  13. fall — the season
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. firm — a company
  17. chair — a leader
  18. race — a contest
  19. squash — the sport
  20. root — the cause
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. clip — a video
  23. firm — steady
  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