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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 124 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 had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  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. kid — child
  2. race — the arms race
  3. race — a contest
  4. root — of a word
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. kid — to tease
  7. capital — a city
  8. bass — the fish
  9. shower — rain
  10. capital — money
  11. race — humankind
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. root — the cause
  16. bass — low music
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. root — of a plant
  19. spell — letters
  20. branch — a division
  21. spell — magic
  22. spell — a short time
  23. capital — a big letter
  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