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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. pitch — completely
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. bat — the animal
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. capital — money
  8. fork — in a road
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. race — the arms race
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. race — humankind
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. spell — a short time
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. race — a contest
  22. spell — letters
  23. spell — magic
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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