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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. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. march — the month
  4. race — humankind
  5. degree — from a university
  6. march — music
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. stock — goods
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. march — the month
  12. degree — temperature
  13. stock — shares
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. race — the arms race
  16. capital — money
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. degree — an amount
  20. race — a contest
  21. kid — child
  22. kid — to tease
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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