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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. kid — to tease
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. branch — a division
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. kid — child
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. band — a music group
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. sharp — clever
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. race — the arms race
  17. band — a ring
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. board — a committee
  20. board — to get on
  21. pound — a weight
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. race — a contest
  24. board — a flat piece

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