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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: race · branch · saw · wind · field · march · cue · object

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. wind — moving air
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. object — to protest
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. march — the month
  7. field — a subject
  8. race — humankind
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. march — music
  11. object — a thing
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. saw — the tool
  14. branch — a division
  15. cue — for pool
  16. race — a contest
  17. march — the month
  18. cue — a signal
  19. wind — moving air
  20. field — farmland
  21. race — the arms race
  22. saw — the tool
  23. field — for sport
  24. object — an aim

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