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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. branch — a division
  3. race — humankind
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. content — the amount
  6. court — for sport
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. race — a contest
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. mine — for digging
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. race — the arms race
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. chip — for betting
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. court — of law
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. chip — to eat
  23. content — happy
  24. court — of a king

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