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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. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. stand — for spectators
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. race — humankind
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. branch — a division
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. degree — an amount
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. hand — in cards
  11. race — the arms race
  12. stand — to bear
  13. mine — for digging
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. degree — from a university
  18. degree — temperature
  19. bulb — for light
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. race — a contest
  22. kick — in football
  23. bulb — for light
  24. hand — help

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