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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. When was this ________________ built?
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. race — humankind
  4. capital — a city
  5. cap — a lid
  6. ground — a position
  7. cap — a hat
  8. race — a contest
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. race — the arms race
  11. ground — crushed
  12. row — to paddle
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. row — a line
  15. rule — a law
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. pound — a weight
  19. rule — government
  20. capital — money
  21. ground — the earth
  22. cap — of ice
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. capital — a big letter

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