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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. race — the arms race
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. race — a contest
  8. field — a subject
  9. last — final
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. club — for dancing
  12. row — to paddle
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. field — farmland
  16. last — finally
  17. deal — to handle
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. club — for golf
  20. last — to go on
  21. row — a line
  22. club — a group
  23. race — humankind
  24. field — for sport

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