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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. bound — certain
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. capital — money
  5. race — humankind
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. bound — obliged
  9. bound — tied together
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. wind — moving air
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. capital — a city
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. wind — moving air
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. race — a contest
  21. branch — a division
  22. race — the arms race
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. mine — for digging

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