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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. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. wound — an injury
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. wind — moving air
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. bass — low music
  9. bass — the fish
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. race — humankind
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. stand — to bear
  17. race — the arms race
  18. race — a contest
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wind — moving air
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. branch — a division

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