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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 120 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: fall · lie · march · dip · race · chair · can · lash

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. race — humankind
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. chair — a leader
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. can — a tin
  8. fall — to drop
  9. race — the arms race
  10. march — the month
  11. fall — to drop
  12. can — to be able to
  13. march — music
  14. march — the month
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. lie — to recline
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. fall — the season
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. dip — to sink
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. can — a tin

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