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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. capital — a city
  3. present — there
  4. club — for dancing
  5. capital — money
  6. race — a contest
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. pop — to visit
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. present — a gift
  11. lean — to bend
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. pop — music
  14. present — the time now
  15. pop — soda
  16. lean — thin
  17. wind — moving air
  18. club — a group
  19. race — humankind
  20. race — the arms race
  21. club — for golf
  22. last — to go on
  23. last — final
  24. wind — moving air

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