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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. cap — of ice
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wind — moving air
  6. race — the arms race
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. march — the month
  10. degree — an amount
  11. march — music
  12. race — humankind
  13. branch — a division
  14. mark — a trace
  15. date — the fruit
  16. degree — temperature
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. degree — from a university
  19. mark — a grade
  20. cap — a hat
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. cap — a lid
  23. race — a contest
  24. march — the month

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