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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. cap — of ice
  4. lie — to recline
  5. file — a tool
  6. club — for golf
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. tear — from crying
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. race — humankind
  11. file — a document
  12. wind — moving air
  13. race — the arms race
  14. wind — moving air
  15. cap — a lid
  16. file — a line of people
  17. cap — a hat
  18. tear — from crying
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. club — for dancing
  22. tear — to rip
  23. branch — a division
  24. club — a group

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