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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 120 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's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. race — a contest
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. rush — hurry
  7. shower — rain
  8. mine — for digging
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. bore — to tire
  11. branch — a division
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. cell — in biology
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. race — humankind
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. race — the arms race
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. cell — a phone
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. bore — to drill
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. lash — an eyelash

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