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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  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. capital — a big letter
  2. key — in music
  3. cell — a phone
  4. capital — money
  5. cell — in biology
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. rash — a series
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. key — for a lock
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. capital — a city
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. fork — in a road
  14. race — a contest
  15. wake — a trail
  16. key — the most important part
  17. race — humankind
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. kid — child
  20. kid — to tease
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. rash — hasty
  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