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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. last — final
  5. wind — moving air
  6. last — to go on
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. land — to come down
  9. branch — a division
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. last — finally
  13. race — a contest
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. race — humankind
  19. shower — rain
  20. land — a country
  21. stand — to bear
  22. perch — the fish
  23. land — ground
  24. shower — to wash

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