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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. club — for golf
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. degree — from a university
  5. branch — a division
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. last — to go on
  8. vault — a safe
  9. race — the arms race
  10. mate — a partner
  11. club — a group
  12. club — for dancing
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. race — a contest
  16. bat — the animal
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. degree — an amount
  19. degree — temperature
  20. last — finally
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. last — final
  23. mate — to breed
  24. mate — a friend

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