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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: mouse · branch · race · spring · tear · file · bay · capital

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. branch — a division
  4. tear — from crying
  5. capital — money
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. race — humankind
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. spring — the season
  11. spring — a coil
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. file — a tool
  14. race — a contest
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. file — a line of people
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. file — a document
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. tear — to rip
  21. capital — a city
  22. spring — of water
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. tear — from crying

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