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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. lean — thin
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. charge — a price
  6. wind — moving air
  7. race — humankind
  8. charge — electricity
  9. mark — a trace
  10. ground — crushed
  11. mark — a grade
  12. march — the month
  13. race — a contest
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. lean — to bend
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. charge — in control
  19. march — music
  20. branch — a division
  21. march — the month
  22. wind — moving air
  23. race — the arms race
  24. ground — the earth

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