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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: ground · ball · race · track · rest · board · pound · fall

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. race — a contest
  3. race — the arms race
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. rest — a break
  6. ground — a position
  7. fall — the season
  8. fall — to drop
  9. fall — to drop
  10. pound — a weight
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. board — to get on
  13. ball — a great time
  14. track — to keep track
  15. rest — what's left
  16. ground — the earth
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. rest — what's left
  19. race — humankind
  20. ball — a dance
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. track — a song
  23. track — a path
  24. ground — crushed

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