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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. pop — to visit
  3. row — to paddle
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. kick — in football
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. object — an aim
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. race — a contest
  13. pitch — completely
  14. season — of the year
  15. object — a thing
  16. object — to protest
  17. race — the arms race
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. branch — a division
  20. pop — music
  21. season — in sport
  22. race — humankind
  23. row — a line
  24. branch — of a bank

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