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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. stem — to come from
  3. march — the month
  4. kid — child
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. march — the month
  7. kid — to tease
  8. hand — in cards
  9. race — a contest
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. march — music
  13. hand — help
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. branch — a division
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. race — the arms race
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. race — humankind
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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