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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. race — humankind
  6. plane — a tool
  7. row — a line
  8. lie — to recline
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. game — wild animals
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. row — to paddle
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. race — the arms race
  18. wind — moving air
  19. race — a contest
  20. branch — a division
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. wind — moving air
  24. branch — of a tree

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