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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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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: chip · race · clip · ground · fall · march · lie · content

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. content — the amount
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. lie — to recline
  6. chip — for betting
  7. ground — a position
  8. march — music
  9. march — the month
  10. fall — the season
  11. ground — the earth
  12. content — happy
  13. race — a contest
  14. fall — to drop
  15. clip — for paper
  16. ground — crushed
  17. race — the arms race
  18. fall — to drop
  19. chip — to eat
  20. clip — to cut
  21. race — humankind
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. march — the month
  24. clip — a video

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