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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. branch — a division
  5. bass — the fish
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. prune — to trim
  8. race — the arms race
  9. capital — a city
  10. prune — to trim
  11. lie — to recline
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. capital — money
  14. row — to paddle
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. row — a line
  18. date — the fruit
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. race — humankind
  22. bass — low music
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. capital — a big letter

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