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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. mate — a friend
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. mate — a partner
  7. race — a contest
  8. date — the fruit
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. mark — a grade
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. race — the arms race
  15. sharp — clever
  16. race — humankind
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. cold — not warm
  20. mark — a trace
  21. branch — a division
  22. mate — to breed
  23. cold — an illness
  24. sharp — exactly

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