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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. race — humankind
  3. race — a contest
  4. kid — child
  5. file — a tool
  6. present — a gift
  7. file — a line of people
  8. suit — to fit
  9. present — the time now
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. race — the arms race
  13. suit — clothes
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. capital — money
  17. wake — a trail
  18. present — there
  19. kid — to tease
  20. file — a document
  21. branch — a division
  22. capital — a city
  23. suit — in cards
  24. branch — of a tree

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