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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. shower — to wash
  3. race — the arms race
  4. spring — of water
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. race — humankind
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. march — the month
  10. shower — rain
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. spring — the season
  13. march — the month
  14. wake — a trail
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. race — a contest
  18. capital — money
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. capital — a city
  21. march — music
  22. spring — a coil
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. branch — a division

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