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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. cell — in biology
  3. court — of a king
  4. squash — to crush
  5. race — the arms race
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. root — the cause
  9. swing — to play on
  10. race — humankind
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. wound — an injury
  13. race — a contest
  14. court — for sport
  15. root — of a word
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. swing — music
  18. cell — a phone
  19. root — of a plant
  20. branch — a division
  21. squash — the sport
  22. wound — an injury
  23. court — of law
  24. swing — in golf

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