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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. branch — a division
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. ground — crushed
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. ground — a position
  8. ground — the earth
  9. stock — goods
  10. fork — in a road
  11. capital — money
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. race — a contest
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. stock — shares
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. race — the arms race
  18. capital — a city

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