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

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. race — humankind
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. pop — to visit
  5. present — the time now
  6. club — for dancing
  7. file — a line of people
  8. content — happy
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. present — a gift
  11. file — a tool
  12. race — the arms race
  13. club — a group
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. content — the amount
  17. branch — a division
  18. club — for golf
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. file — a document
  21. pop — music
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. pop — soda
  24. present — there

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