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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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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 · game · ground · ruler · race · fall · wake · last

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. last — finally
  3. ground — a position
  4. ground — crushed
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. fall — to drop
  7. last — to go on
  8. race — the arms race
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. game — a match
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fall — the season
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. lie — to recline
  17. last — final
  18. ground — the earth
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. race — humankind
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. wake — a trail
  24. race — a contest

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