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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 116 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 · board · wound · scale · ground · fall · racket · march

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. ground — the earth
  3. fall — to drop
  4. race — the arms race
  5. ground — crushed
  6. race — a contest
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. scale — size or range
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. board — a committee
  12. board — to get on
  13. scale — in music
  14. wound — an injury
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. race — humankind
  17. march — the month
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. wound — an injury
  20. march — the month
  21. ground — a position
  22. march — music
  23. fall — the season
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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