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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: fall · branch · pop · bay · race · clip · tear · bound

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. pop — soda
  4. fall — the season
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. tear — from crying
  7. branch — a division
  8. race — the arms race
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. pop — music
  11. race — humankind
  12. clip — for paper
  13. clip — a video
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tear — to rip
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. fall — to drop
  18. fall — to drop
  19. pop — to visit
  20. clip — to cut
  21. bound — tied together
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. bound — obliged
  24. bound — certain

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