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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 120 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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. chest — of your body
  4. chest — a box
  5. race — humankind
  6. hand — in cards
  7. degree — an amount
  8. capital — money
  9. race — the arms race
  10. chip — for betting
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. bore — to tire
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. degree — from a university
  18. bore — to drill
  19. chest — of your body
  20. hand — help
  21. degree — temperature
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. race — a contest
  24. chip — to eat

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