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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. capital — a city
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. club — for golf
  6. race — a contest
  7. capital — money
  8. tear — from crying
  9. track — a song
  10. kid — child
  11. race — humankind
  12. kid — to tease
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. track — to keep track
  15. tear — from crying
  16. current — electric
  17. club — for dancing
  18. race — the arms race
  19. current — of water
  20. current — happening now
  21. stand — to bear
  22. tear — to rip
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. track — a path

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