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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. race — the arms race
  4. season — of the year
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. scale — size or range
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. race — humankind
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. sharp — clever
  11. race — a contest
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. bat — the animal
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. foot — a measure
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. season — in sport
  21. stem — to come from
  22. scale — in music
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. branch — of a tree

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