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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: race · sharp · court · cap · wake · tube · rock · fall

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. wake — a trail
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. fall — the season
  5. fall — to drop
  6. rock — music
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. race — the arms race
  9. cap — a lid
  10. race — humankind
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. fall — to drop
  13. race — a contest
  14. court — of law
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. cap — a hat
  18. sharp — clever
  19. tube — a container
  20. court — of a king
  21. rock — a stone
  22. tube — the underground
  23. court — for sport
  24. cap — of ice

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