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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. race — the arms race
  4. court — for sport
  5. race — humankind
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. race — a contest
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. file — a document
  12. field — for sport
  13. field — a subject
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. pound — a weight
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. field — farmland
  18. court — of a king
  19. file — a line of people
  20. court — of law
  21. rush — hurry
  22. file — a tool
  23. branch — a division
  24. pitcher — a jug

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