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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. shower — rain
  5. branch — a division
  6. race — humankind
  7. mine — for digging
  8. race — a contest
  9. swing — music
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. swing — in golf
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. chest — of your body
  14. chest — of your body
  15. swing — to play on
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. can — to be able to
  18. race — the arms race
  19. shower — to wash
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. can — a tin
  22. chest — a box
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. lie — to recline

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