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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: rash · cabinet · bat · branch · fall · spell · leaves · race

  1. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. race — humankind
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. fall — to drop
  5. spell — letters
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. spell — a short time
  8. branch — a division
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. spell — magic
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. rash — hasty
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. race — the arms race
  20. fall — the season
  21. race — a contest
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. fall — to drop
  24. bat — the animal

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