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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. squash — to crush
  4. perch — the fish
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. race — a contest
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. craft — a skill
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. craft — boats
  15. scale — in music
  16. branch — a division
  17. spring — of water
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. spring — the season
  20. spring — a coil
  21. squash — the sport
  22. scale — size or range
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. race — the arms race

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