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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. last — final
  4. bat — the animal
  5. race — humankind
  6. root — of a word
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. capital — money
  9. pit — in a race
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. wound — an injury
  12. root — the cause
  13. capital — a city
  14. race — the arms race
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. root — of a plant
  17. last — finally
  18. last — to go on
  19. race — a contest
  20. wound — an injury
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. pit — a hole

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