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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'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. pit — in a race
  3. branch — a division
  4. last — to go on
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. file — a document
  7. court — of a king
  8. last — finally
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. court — for sport
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. file — a line of people
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. pit — a hole
  16. cue — a signal
  17. race — a contest
  18. file — a tool
  19. cue — for pool
  20. race — humankind
  21. court — of law
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. race — the arms race
  24. last — final

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