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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. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. branch — a division
  5. band — a ring
  6. suit — in cards
  7. chest — of your body
  8. ball — a great time
  9. suit — clothes
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. chest — a box
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. race — a contest
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. race — the arms race
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. race — humankind
  21. band — a music group
  22. ball — a dance
  23. sharp — clever
  24. chest — of your body

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