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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. net — in sport
  3. branch — a division
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. rash — a series
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. bat — the animal
  9. race — a contest
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. net — after costs
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. drill — the tool
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. rash — hasty
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. drill — army training
  18. race — humankind
  19. drill — a practice
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. plane — a tool
  23. race — the arms race
  24. net — for catching

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