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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. race — the arms race
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. shower — rain
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. branch — a division
  8. shower — to wash
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. mine — for digging
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. pit — in a race
  13. snap — to click
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. race — humankind
  17. band — a music group
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. band — a ring
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. race — a contest

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