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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 am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. race — humankind
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. press — a publisher
  5. branch — a division
  6. shower — to wash
  7. lean — to bend
  8. race — a contest
  9. press — newspapers
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. shower — rain
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. press — to push
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. last — final
  16. last — to go on
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. lean — thin
  21. race — the arms race
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. last — finally
  24. trunk — of a tree

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