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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: foot · cold · wind · race · branch · bowl

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. race — a contest
  3. wind — moving air
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. race — humankind
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. cold — not warm
  10. branch — a division
  11. race — the arms race
  12. wind — moving air
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. foot — a measure

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