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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. capital — a city
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. capital — money
  8. spell — letters
  9. staff — a stick
  10. face — part of the head
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. kid — to tease
  13. race — the arms race
  14. staff — employees
  15. race — humankind
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. spell — magic
  19. pound — a weight
  20. spell — a short time
  21. face — to confront
  22. kid — child
  23. face — to point toward
  24. staff — employees

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