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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. bat — the animal
  3. key — for a lock
  4. spell — magic
  5. key — the most important part
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. key — in music
  8. race — the arms race
  9. race — humankind
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. branch — a division
  12. lie — to recline
  13. spell — letters
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. bark — to shout
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. race — a contest
  18. scale — size or range
  19. spell — a short time
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. scale — in music

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