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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. rest — a break
  3. rest — what's left
  4. race — a contest
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. root — of a plant
  7. race — humankind
  8. rest — what's left
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. race — the arms race
  11. root — of a word
  12. cold — not warm
  13. firm — steady
  14. firm — a company
  15. firm — decided
  16. board — a committee
  17. degree — an amount
  18. capital — money
  19. degree — from a university
  20. board — to get on
  21. root — the cause
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. cold — an illness
  24. degree — temperature

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