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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. fall — to drop
  3. game — wild animals
  4. race — humankind
  5. bound — certain
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. roll — a list
  8. fall — to drop
  9. game — a match
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. branch — a division
  13. bound — tied together
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. bound — obliged
  16. race — the arms race
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. race — a contest
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. bear — the animal
  22. fall — the season
  23. roll — a cake
  24. bear — the animal

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