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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. race — humankind
  3. capital — a city
  4. spring — of water
  5. ground — the earth
  6. ground — crushed
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. spring — a coil
  9. capital — money
  10. dip — to sink
  11. saw — the tool
  12. present — the time now
  13. race — the arms race
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. ground — a position
  16. club — for dancing
  17. saw — the tool
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. present — there
  20. club — a group
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. race — a contest
  23. spring — the season
  24. present — a gift

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