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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. race — a contest
  3. race — humankind
  4. chair — a leader
  5. bear — the animal
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. cap — a hat
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. rush — hurry
  15. cap — of ice
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. branch — a division
  21. race — the arms race
  22. bear — the animal
  23. stand — to bear
  24. cap — a lid

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