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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 116 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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. branch — a division
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. key — the most important part
  5. court — of a king
  6. spring — the season
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. spring — a coil
  10. key — for a lock
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. court — of law
  13. race — humankind
  14. key — in music
  15. hand — in cards
  16. band — a ring
  17. court — for sport
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. race — the arms race
  20. hand — help
  21. spring — of water
  22. sharp — clever
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. band — a music group

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