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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. mine — for digging
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. race — a contest
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. wound — an injury
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. wound — an injury
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. race — humankind
  17. scale — in music
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. scale — size or range
  20. capital — a city
  21. race — the arms race
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. capital — money

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