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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 120 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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. branch — a division
  7. race — a contest
  8. row — a line
  9. race — the arms race
  10. rash — a series
  11. kid — to tease
  12. spring — a coil
  13. race — humankind
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. rash — hasty
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. row — to paddle
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. kid — child
  20. firm — steady
  21. pitch — completely
  22. spring — the season
  23. firm — a company
  24. spring — of water

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