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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. key — the most important part
  3. cap — a hat
  4. cap — a lid
  5. season — of the year
  6. key — in music
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. spell — magic
  9. race — the arms race
  10. field — farmland
  11. key — for a lock
  12. hand — in cards
  13. race — a contest
  14. hand — help
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. cap — of ice
  17. branch — a division
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. spell — letters
  20. season — in sport
  21. field — a subject
  22. field — for sport
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. spell — a short time

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