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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. game — wild animals
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. capital — money
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. last — final
  8. last — to go on
  9. race — humankind
  10. tube — a container
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. tube — the underground
  14. capital — a city
  15. race — a contest
  16. last — finally
  17. game — a match
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. season — in sport
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. race — the arms race
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. season — to add flavour

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