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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. chest — of your body
  3. chest — a box
  4. branch — a division
  5. race — a contest
  6. tear — to rip
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. tube — the underground
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. tear — from crying
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. press — newspapers
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. tear — from crying
  16. press — to push
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. press — a publisher
  19. chest — of your body
  20. wake — a trail
  21. tube — a container
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. race — humankind
  24. branch — of a tree

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