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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 116 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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. race — the arms race
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. cold — an illness
  6. rash — a series
  7. pit — in a race
  8. season — of the year
  9. race — humankind
  10. cold — not warm
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. race — a contest
  13. season — in sport
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. rash — hasty
  16. pit — a hole
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. capital — money

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