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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 120 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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. game — a match
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. race — the arms race
  5. craft — a skill
  6. chip — to eat
  7. game — wild animals
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. chip — for betting
  10. race — a contest
  11. key — in music
  12. squash — to crush
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. race — humankind
  15. capital — a city
  16. craft — boats
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. key — the most important part
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. row — a line
  21. key — for a lock
  22. row — to paddle
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. capital — money

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