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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: lie · cap · race · fall · lean · mark · track · wind

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. lie — to recline
  4. cap — a lid
  5. cap — of ice
  6. race — a contest
  7. race — humankind
  8. wind — moving air
  9. lean — thin
  10. fall — to drop
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. lean — to bend
  13. mark — a grade
  14. fall — to drop
  15. cap — a hat
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. wind — moving air
  18. race — the arms race
  19. track — to keep track
  20. mark — a trace
  21. track — a song
  22. fall — the season
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. wind — to turn a key

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