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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 116 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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. cap — a hat
  3. race — humankind
  4. chip — for betting
  5. race — a contest
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. capital — a city
  8. chip — to eat
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. race — the arms race
  11. shower — rain
  12. cap — a lid
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. capital — money
  18. shower — to wash

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