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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  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. race — humankind
  2. bank — for money
  3. hand — in cards
  4. net — for catching
  5. net — after costs
  6. race — the arms race
  7. branch — a division
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. pitch — completely
  10. race — a contest
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. spring — the season
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. net — in sport
  16. spring — of water
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. spring — a coil
  19. bank — of a river
  20. hand — help
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. bank — for money
  23. snap — to click
  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