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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 120 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: race · file · branch · rest · season · arm · rush · cell

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. season — in sport
  3. cell — a phone
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. file — a tool
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. branch — a division
  8. rest — what's left
  9. rest — a break
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. race — a contest
  12. rush — hurry
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. file — a line of people
  18. race — humankind
  19. cell — in biology
  20. file — a document
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. race — the arms race
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. rest — what's left

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