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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. bound — tied together
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. bound — obliged
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. pit — in a race
  8. spring — of water
  9. capital — money
  10. capital — a city
  11. net — after costs
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. bound — certain
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. net — for catching
  19. net — in sport
  20. race — humankind
  21. spring — the season
  22. race — the arms race
  23. pit — a hole
  24. spring — a coil

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