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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. race — a contest
  4. tear — from crying
  5. tear — to rip
  6. mine — for digging
  7. race — humankind
  8. branch — a division
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. race — the arms race
  11. file — a line of people
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. craft — boats
  14. file — a tool
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. tear — from crying
  18. file — a document
  19. scale — size or range
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. scale — in music
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. craft — a skill
  24. nail — on a finger

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