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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: foot · current · cold · race · land · arm · club · branch

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. land — to come down
  3. club — for dancing
  4. foot — a measure
  5. current — electric
  6. current — happening now
  7. race — the arms race
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. branch — a division
  10. cold — not warm
  11. club — a group
  12. land — ground
  13. current — of water
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. club — for golf
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. cold — an illness
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. land — a country
  23. race — humankind
  24. arm — part of the body

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