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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 124 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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. chest — a box
  3. race — humankind
  4. chest — of your body
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. cold — not warm
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. board — to get on
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. race — the arms race
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. race — a contest
  15. branch — a division
  16. chest — of your body
  17. board — a committee
  18. wave — of the sea

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