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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. race — the arms race
  4. race — a contest
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. last — finally
  8. capital — a city
  9. branch — a division
  10. last — final
  11. chair — a leader
  12. race — humankind
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. last — to go on
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. capital — money
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. wax — to grow
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. wax — for sculpting

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