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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. capital — money
  3. fine — all right
  4. bound — obliged
  5. drill — the tool
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. scale — size or range
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. drill — army training
  11. race — a contest
  12. bound — tied together
  13. mark — a grade
  14. mark — a trace
  15. stem — to come from
  16. race — humankind
  17. fine — high quality
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. drill — a practice
  20. scale — in music
  21. capital — a city
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. bound — certain
  24. race — the arms race

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