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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. race — a contest
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. cue — a hint
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. spring — the season
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. mine — for digging
  10. capital — money
  11. mate — a friend
  12. cue — a signal
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. mate — a partner
  16. capital — a city
  17. bat — the animal
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. mate — to breed
  20. cue — for pool
  21. spring — of water
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. spring — a coil
  24. race — the arms race

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