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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. land — ground
  3. stock — goods
  4. tear — from crying
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. ground — the earth
  7. stock — shares
  8. tear — from crying
  9. key — for a lock
  10. ground — a position
  11. key — the most important part
  12. ground — crushed
  13. race — a contest
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. race — humankind
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. land — to come down
  21. race — the arms race
  22. tear — to rip
  23. key — in music
  24. land — a country

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