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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: ball · march · fine · fall · pit · race · bat · saw

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. race — humankind
  3. ball — a great time
  4. pit — a hole
  5. pit — in a race
  6. saw — the tool
  7. saw — the tool
  8. race — a contest
  9. fall — to drop
  10. fine — high quality
  11. bat — the animal
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. fine — all right
  14. ball — a dance
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. march — the month
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. race — the arms race
  19. march — the month
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. march — music
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. fall — to drop
  24. fine — a penalty

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