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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. net — after costs
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. net — in sport
  8. prune — to trim
  9. board — a committee
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. shower — rain
  14. drill — a practice
  15. branch — a division
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. race — humankind
  18. drill — the tool
  19. drill — army training
  20. race — the arms race
  21. shower — to wash
  22. prune — to trim
  23. board — to get on
  24. net — for catching

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