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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. race — the arms race
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. prune — to trim
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. chip — to eat
  8. scale — in music
  9. row — a line
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. scale — size or range
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. wake — a trail
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. race — a contest
  17. chip — for betting
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. prune — to trim
  20. pitch — completely
  21. row — to paddle
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. race — humankind
  24. branch — a division

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