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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 116 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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. race — humankind
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. kid — child
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. kid — to tease
  9. capital — a city
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. race — the arms race
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. capital — money
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. fall — the season
  16. ground — the earth
  17. ground — a position
  18. ground — crushed
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. race — a contest
  21. branch — a division
  22. fall — to drop
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. bowl — a dish

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