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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. branch — a division
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. object — an aim
  6. race — the arms race
  7. race — humankind
  8. cold — not warm
  9. press — newspapers
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. press — to push
  13. kid — child
  14. race — a contest
  15. cold — an illness
  16. last — final
  17. last — to go on
  18. press — a publisher
  19. kid — to tease
  20. last — finally
  21. object — to protest
  22. perch — the fish
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. branch — of a bank

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