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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. lie — to recline
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. race — humankind
  9. kick — in football
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. branch — a division
  13. race — a contest
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. rule — government
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. stem — to come from
  21. rule — a law
  22. court — of a king
  23. race — the arms race
  24. court — of law

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