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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. race — humankind
  3. present — the time now
  4. fine — all right
  5. roll — a list
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. roll — a cake
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. file — a tool
  11. file — a document
  12. file — a line of people
  13. race — a contest
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. present — there
  16. race — the arms race
  17. scale — size or range
  18. present — a gift
  19. capital — money
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. fine — high quality
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. scale — in music
  24. branch — a division

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