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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. bear — the animal
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. last — final
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. clip — for paper
  8. roll — a list
  9. last — to go on
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. bear — the animal
  12. race — humankind
  13. last — finally
  14. roll — a cake
  15. clip — to cut
  16. race — a contest
  17. clip — a video
  18. race — the arms race
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. calf — a young animal

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