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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. race — humankind
  3. kid — child
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. branch — a division
  6. track — a path
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. kid — to tease
  10. pit — in a race
  11. key — the most important part
  12. wind — moving air
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. wind — moving air
  15. key — for a lock
  16. track — to keep track
  17. race — a contest
  18. clip — a video
  19. key — in music
  20. clip — to cut
  21. track — a song
  22. clip — for paper
  23. pit — a hole
  24. race — the arms race

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