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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. rush — hurry
  3. pass — a permit
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. rash — hasty
  6. object — to protest
  7. capital — a city
  8. branch — a division
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. race — humankind
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. race — a contest
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. rash — a series
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. race — the arms race
  20. object — an aim
  21. capital — money
  22. object — a thing
  23. mine — for digging
  24. branch — of a tree

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