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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. object — to protest
  3. object — a thing
  4. object — an aim
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. race — humankind
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. race — the arms race
  13. bear — the animal
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. capital — money
  16. track — a song
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. branch — a division
  19. capital — a city
  20. track — to keep track
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. track — a path
  23. bear — the animal
  24. trunk — of a car

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