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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 giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. wind — moving air
  4. track — a song
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. track — a path
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. bass — low music
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. last — finally
  12. last — final
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. sharp — clever
  15. branch — a division
  16. last — to go on
  17. race — the arms race
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. bass — the fish
  20. track — to keep track
  21. race — humankind
  22. wind — moving air
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. race — a contest

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