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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. race — a contest
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. tear — to rip
  5. tear — from crying
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. capital — money
  11. wax — to grow
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. race — the arms race
  14. rule — government
  15. rule — a law
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. capital — a city
  21. tear — from crying
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. race — humankind
  24. arm — a part of something

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