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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. fine — high quality
  4. race — a contest
  5. race — the arms race
  6. race — humankind
  7. tear — from crying
  8. fine — all right
  9. capital — money
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. face — part of the head
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. face — to point toward
  14. pitch — completely
  15. capital — a city
  16. wound — an injury
  17. face — to confront
  18. wound — an injury
  19. snap — to click
  20. tear — from crying
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. tear — to rip
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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