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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. net — for catching
  3. race — a contest
  4. race — the arms race
  5. tube — the underground
  6. capital — money
  7. ground — crushed
  8. capital — a city
  9. race — humankind
  10. saw — the tool
  11. net — in sport
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. net — after costs
  14. tube — a container
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. saw — the tool
  18. ground — the earth

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