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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. race — a contest
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. race — the arms race
  6. race — humankind
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. spring — of water
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. spring — the season
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. branch — a division
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. fork — in a road
  21. spring — a coil
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. fork — a garden tool

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