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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. ball — a dance
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. pop — music
  6. capital — a city
  7. race — the arms race
  8. capital — money
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. snap — to click
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. race — a contest
  13. mine — for digging
  14. lean — to bend
  15. bear — the animal
  16. ball — a great time
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. race — humankind
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. pop — to visit
  23. bear — the animal
  24. pop — soda

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