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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 120 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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. board — a committee
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. race — humankind
  6. board — to get on
  7. wind — moving air
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. race — a contest
  10. cell — in biology
  11. branch — a division
  12. race — the arms race
  13. cell — a phone
  14. cap — of ice
  15. object — an aim
  16. object — a thing
  17. wind — moving air
  18. cap — a lid
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. wake — a trail
  22. cap — a hat
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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