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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. perch — the fish
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. rest — a break
  6. band — a music group
  7. race — the arms race
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. net — in sport
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. band — a ring
  12. fine — all right
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. rest — what's left
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. branch — a division
  17. net — after costs
  18. race — humankind
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. fine — high quality
  21. net — for catching
  22. race — a contest
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. band — a rubber band

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