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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. present — there
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. race — humankind
  6. mate — a friend
  7. cell — in biology
  8. branch — a division
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. hand — help
  11. hand — in cards
  12. mate — to breed
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. cell — a phone
  17. present — the time now
  18. race — the arms race
  19. race — a contest
  20. date — the fruit
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. mate — a partner
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. branch — of a bank

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