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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 · fall · net · track · deal · fork · date · stand

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. track — a song
  4. fall — the season
  5. deal — to handle
  6. net — after costs
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. track — to keep track
  10. fork — in a road
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. fall — to drop
  13. stand — to bear
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. net — in sport
  16. date — the fruit
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. race — the arms race
  19. race — a contest
  20. track — a path
  21. race — humankind
  22. net — for catching
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. fork — a garden tool

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