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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. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. suit — to fit
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. suit — clothes
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. shower — to wash
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. suit — in cards
  9. shower — rain
  10. capital — a city
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. race — the arms race
  13. row — a line
  14. chip — for betting
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. branch — a division
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. race — a contest
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bat — the animal
  22. row — to paddle
  23. capital — money
  24. chip — to eat

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