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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 owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. cold — an illness
  3. race — a contest
  4. suit — in cards
  5. race — humankind
  6. last — to go on
  7. last — finally
  8. last — final
  9. suit — to fit
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. squash — to crush
  14. branch — a division
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. perch — the fish
  17. cold — not warm
  18. suit — clothes
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. squash — the sport
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. race — the arms race

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