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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. race — a contest
  4. race — humankind
  5. capital — money
  6. pit — in a race
  7. race — the arms race
  8. degree — from a university
  9. pit — a hole
  10. band — a music group
  11. degree — an amount
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. band — a ring
  16. pound — a weight
  17. capital — a city
  18. degree — temperature

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