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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. cold — an illness
  3. court — for sport
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. race — a contest
  6. cold — not warm
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. bound — certain
  10. bound — tied together
  11. lean — to bend
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. court — of a king
  14. branch — a division
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. bound — obliged
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. race — the arms race
  20. lean — thin
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. rule — government
  23. rule — a law
  24. court — of law

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