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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: race · ball · stand · sharp · rule · cold · stick · fall

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. rule — government
  3. fall — to drop
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. cold — an illness
  7. fall — the season
  8. ball — a great time
  9. race — a contest
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. race — humankind
  13. rule — a law
  14. fall — to drop
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. sharp — clever
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. cold — not warm
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. ball — a dance
  22. race — the arms race
  23. stand — to bear
  24. sharp — with an edge

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