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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. ball — a dance
  3. file — a document
  4. degree — an amount
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. degree — temperature
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. bear — the animal
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. file — a line of people
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. bear — the animal
  14. race — humankind
  15. ball — a great time
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. bat — the animal
  18. branch — a division
  19. file — a tool
  20. degree — from a university
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. race — the arms race
  24. leaves — to go away

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