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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 drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. wind — moving air
  4. race — humankind
  5. branch — a division
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. court — of a king
  9. court — for sport
  10. race — the arms race
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. court — of law
  13. cold — an illness
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. suit — to fit
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. wax — to grow
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. suit — clothes
  21. suit — in cards
  22. cold — not warm
  23. race — a contest
  24. cold — the Cold War

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