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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. race — a contest
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. charge — in control
  8. chest — of your body
  9. cold — an illness
  10. race — humankind
  11. branch — a division
  12. cold — not warm
  13. chest — a box
  14. bat — the animal
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. board — a committee
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. charge — a price
  20. race — the arms race
  21. charge — electricity
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. chest — of your body
  24. board — to get 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