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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. race — humankind
  3. mine — for digging
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. race — a contest
  7. mate — a friend
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. branch — a division
  10. tube — a container
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. mark — a grade
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. tube — the underground
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. mate — to breed
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. chair — a leader
  20. race — the arms race
  21. mark — a trace
  22. mate — a partner
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. chair — to sit on

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