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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. cue — a hint
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. bear — the animal
  7. race — humankind
  8. tear — from crying
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. saw — the tool
  11. tear — from crying
  12. cue — a signal
  13. tear — to rip
  14. race — a contest
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. bear — the animal
  18. branch — a division
  19. saw — the tool
  20. race — the arms race
  21. chair — a leader
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. cue — for pool
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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