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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 · spell · march · ball · lean · branch · game · bowl

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. spell — a short time
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. game — wild animals
  6. branch — a division
  7. lean — to bend
  8. lean — thin
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. march — the month
  11. ball — a dance
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. race — humankind
  14. spell — magic
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. march — the month
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. march — music
  21. game — a match
  22. race — the arms race
  23. ball — a great time
  24. spell — letters

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