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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. race — the arms race
  3. race — a contest
  4. branch — a division
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. current — electric
  7. current — happening now
  8. present — a gift
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. race — humankind
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. wound — an injury
  14. present — there
  15. rash — a series
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. wound — an injury
  18. current — of water
  19. present — the time now
  20. rash — hasty
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. date — the fruit

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