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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. mine — for digging
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. race — humankind
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. prune — to trim
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. swing — in golf
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. prune — to trim
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. swing — music
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. branch — a division
  23. race — a contest
  24. swing — to play on

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