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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · spell · march · lean · leaves · land · fall · capital

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. race — humankind
  3. land — a country
  4. fall — to drop
  5. race — a contest
  6. spell — magic
  7. march — the month
  8. lean — to bend
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. spell — a short time
  11. race — the arms race
  12. spell — letters
  13. fall — to drop
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. capital — money
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. march — the month
  18. land — to come down
  19. fall — the season
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. march — music
  23. capital — a city
  24. lean — thin

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