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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. spring — a coil
  3. ground — the earth
  4. race — the arms race
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. spring — the season
  7. branch — a division
  8. shower — to wash
  9. bass — low music
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. sharp — clever
  12. ground — crushed
  13. shower — rain
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. ground — a position
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. bass — the fish
  20. race — a contest
  21. spring — of water
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. racket — a loud noise

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