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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: toast · bear · chest · cell · scale · swing · branch · race

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. branch — a division
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. race — humankind
  6. scale — size or range
  7. swing — to play on
  8. cell — a phone
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. chest — of your body
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. swing — in golf
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. bear — the animal
  16. cell — in biology
  17. swing — music
  18. scale — in music
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. race — a contest
  21. chest — of your body
  22. chest — a box
  23. toast — bread
  24. bear — the animal

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