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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. kid — child
  3. bank — for money
  4. track — a song
  5. race — a contest
  6. race — humankind
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. bank — for money
  10. kid — to tease
  11. bank — of a river
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. row — a line
  14. mug — a cup
  15. track — to keep track
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. branch — a division
  18. race — the arms race
  19. mug — a face
  20. row — to paddle
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — moving air
  23. mug — to rob
  24. wind — to turn a key

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