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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. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. rest — what's left
  3. branch — a division
  4. cell — a phone
  5. deal — to handle
  6. race — humankind
  7. march — the month
  8. court — of law
  9. rest — what's left
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. key — the most important part
  12. march — music
  13. race — the arms race
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. march — the month
  17. race — a contest
  18. key — for a lock
  19. rest — a break
  20. court — of a king
  21. cell — in biology
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. key — in music
  24. court — for sport

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