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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. charge — electricity
  3. branch — a division
  4. spring — the season
  5. charge — in control
  6. spring — of water
  7. clip — for paper
  8. charge — a price
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. spring — a coil
  11. race — the arms race
  12. race — humankind
  13. drill — army training
  14. clip — a video
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. field — a subject
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. clip — to cut
  19. field — for sport
  20. race — a contest
  21. drill — a practice
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. field — farmland
  24. safe — out of danger

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