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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 116 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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  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. row — a quarrel
  3. bound — tied together
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. club — for dancing
  6. race — a contest
  7. row — to paddle
  8. row — a line
  9. bound — obliged
  10. snap — to click
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. club — a group
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. fork — in a road
  16. bound — certain
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. content — happy
  19. content — the amount
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. branch — a division
  22. club — for golf
  23. content — videos and posts
  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