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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 ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. rest — what's left
  3. mine — for digging
  4. rest — a break
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. object — to protest
  7. saw — the tool
  8. branch — a division
  9. object — an aim
  10. race — humankind
  11. race — a contest
  12. kid — to tease
  13. object — a thing
  14. rest — what's left
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. kid — child
  19. saw — the tool
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. race — the arms race
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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