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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. race — a contest
  3. drill — the tool
  4. race — humankind
  5. spring — the season
  6. net — for catching
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. bat — the animal
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. bass — low music
  12. bass — the fish
  13. net — in sport
  14. drill — army training
  15. net — after costs
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. spring — of water
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. race — the arms race
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. branch — a division
  24. spring — a coil

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