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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. court — for sport
  3. spell — letters
  4. spell — a short time
  5. rest — what's left
  6. ground — crushed
  7. rest — a break
  8. rest — what's left
  9. ground — a position
  10. kid — to tease
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. court — of law
  14. court — of a king
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. race — a contest
  18. race — the arms race
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. spell — magic
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. kid — child
  23. ground — the earth
  24. race — humankind

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