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

Word bank: wind · track · stem · race · rest · rush · branch · court

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. rest — what's left
  3. branch — a division
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. rest — what's left
  6. court — of a king
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. race — a contest
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. track — a song
  11. race — the arms race
  12. court — for sport
  13. rest — a break
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. track — to keep track
  17. wind — moving air
  18. stem — to come from
  19. court — of law
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. track — a path
  22. wind — moving air
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. race — humankind

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