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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. rush — hurry
  3. race — humankind
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. charge — electricity
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. race — the arms race
  10. branch — a division
  11. wake — a trail
  12. plane — a tool
  13. shower — to wash
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. charge — a price
  16. charge — in control
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. mine — for digging
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. shower — rain
  23. race — a contest
  24. mine — an explosive

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