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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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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: fall · dip · ground · bear · bound · leaves · mate · race

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. race — a contest
  3. fall — to drop
  4. mate — to breed
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. bound — certain
  7. bound — obliged
  8. ground — crushed
  9. bound — tied together
  10. mate — a partner
  11. bear — the animal
  12. bear — the animal
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. mate — a friend
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. race — humankind
  17. ground — a position
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. ground — the earth
  20. fall — to drop
  21. fall — the season
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. race — the arms race
  24. dip — to sink

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