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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  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. hand — in cards
  3. hand — help
  4. cue — a signal
  5. tear — from crying
  6. cue — a hint
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. race — a contest
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. tear — to rip
  12. clip — for paper
  13. branch — a division
  14. cue — for pool
  15. clip — to cut
  16. clip — a video
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. tear — from crying
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. pitcher — a jug
  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