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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. band — a ring
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. race — a contest
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. pit — in a race
  11. capital — money
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. race — the arms race
  15. capital — a city
  16. pit — a hole
  17. race — humankind
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. wake — a trail
  21. band — a music group
  22. branch — a division
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. racket — a loud noise

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