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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: foot · rash · fall · race · club · lie · fan · cold

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. club — for dancing
  5. race — the arms race
  6. race — humankind
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. foot — a measure
  9. lie — to recline
  10. cold — not warm
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. fall — to drop
  13. race — a contest
  14. fall — the season
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. rash — a series
  17. fall — to drop
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. rash — hasty
  20. club — a group
  21. cold — an illness
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. fan — a supporter

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