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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  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. race — humankind
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. club — for dancing
  4. race — a contest
  5. capital — a city
  6. roll — a list
  7. perch — the fish
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. pitch — completely
  10. staff — employees
  11. club — for golf
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. staff — employees
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. bat — the animal
  17. capital — money
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. staff — a stick
  21. roll — a cake
  22. club — a group
  23. capital — a big letter
  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