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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. last — finally
  3. present — a gift
  4. branch — a division
  5. can — a tin
  6. spell — letters
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. court — of law
  9. can — to be able to
  10. can — a tin
  11. race — a contest
  12. present — there
  13. cell — a phone
  14. spell — magic
  15. race — humankind
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. court — for sport
  19. court — of a king
  20. race — the arms race
  21. present — the time now
  22. last — to go on
  23. last — final
  24. spell — a short time

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