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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. race — humankind
  4. branch — a division
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. object — a thing
  8. cold — an illness
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. bear — the animal
  12. cold — not warm
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. file — a line of people
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. race — a contest
  17. object — to protest
  18. race — the arms race
  19. object — an aim
  20. scale — in music
  21. file — a tool
  22. file — a document
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. bear — the 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