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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. race — the arms race
  3. mug — a face
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. branch — a division
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. season — of the year
  8. pitch — completely
  9. ground — crushed
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. ground — a position
  12. mug — a cup
  13. row — a line
  14. ground — the earth
  15. race — humankind
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. season — in sport
  19. drill — the tool
  20. drill — army training
  21. row — to paddle
  22. race — a contest
  23. mug — to rob
  24. drill — a practice

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