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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  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. row — a line
  2. ball — a great time
  3. mark — a grade
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. ball — a dance
  9. race — the arms race
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. perch — the fish
  14. hand — help
  15. mark — a trace
  16. rush — hurry
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. hand — in cards
  19. row — to paddle
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. race — a contest
  22. branch — a division
  23. mark — to pay attention
  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