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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: bore · fall · fork · mine · chair · season · race · lie

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. fall — to drop
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. lie — to recline
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. bore — to tire
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. mine — for digging
  11. fall — to drop
  12. season — in sport
  13. race — a contest
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. race — the arms race
  16. chair — a leader
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. race — humankind
  20. fall — the season
  21. bore — to drill
  22. season — of the year
  23. fork — in a road
  24. chair — a professorship

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