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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. race — a contest
  3. hand — in cards
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. hand — help
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. fall — the season
  8. race — humankind
  9. field — farmland
  10. net — for catching
  11. net — in sport
  12. net — after costs
  13. branch — a division
  14. field — for sport
  15. field — a subject
  16. fall — to drop
  17. roll — a cake
  18. roll — a list
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. fall — to drop
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. perch — the fish
  24. roll — on a roll

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