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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: wound · staff · pit · tear · race · branch · spell · mark

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. race — the arms race
  3. spell — letters
  4. wound — an injury
  5. mark — a trace
  6. tear — from crying
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. staff — employees
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. pit — a hole
  12. spell — a short time
  13. race — humankind
  14. staff — employees
  15. race — a contest
  16. pit — in a race
  17. spell — magic
  18. branch — a division
  19. tear — from crying
  20. mark — a grade
  21. wound — an injury
  22. tear — to rip
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. staff — a stick

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