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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. content — happy
  3. race — the arms race
  4. spring — a coil
  5. race — a contest
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. tear — to rip
  8. branch — a division
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. wind — moving air
  11. spring — the season
  12. tear — from crying
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. spring — of water
  15. wind — moving air
  16. race — humankind
  17. tear — from crying
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. content — the amount
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. nail — on a finger

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