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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: mine · row · race · bat · ground · vault · stock · branch

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. race — a contest
  4. race — humankind
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. bat — the animal
  7. mine — for digging
  8. ground — crushed
  9. ground — a position
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. race — the arms race
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. row — a line
  15. branch — a division
  16. stock — shares
  17. stock — goods
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. ground — the earth
  22. vault — a safe
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. stock — a soup base

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