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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. track — a path
  3. race — the arms race
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. capital — a city
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. capital — money
  8. fork — in a road
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. content — the amount
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. prune — to trim
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. content — happy
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. race — humankind
  18. prune — to trim
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. track — to keep track
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. track — a song
  23. branch — a division
  24. branch — of a bank

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