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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. race — the arms race
  4. race — a contest
  5. fine — all right
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. fine — high quality
  8. race — humankind
  9. cap — a lid
  10. branch — a division
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. spring — a coil
  16. spring — of water
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. cap — of ice
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. cap — a hat
  22. spring — the season
  23. last — to go on
  24. last — finally

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