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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 116 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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. ground — a position
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. capital — money
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. ground — crushed
  7. ground — the earth
  8. race — humankind
  9. race — the arms race
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. capital — a city
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. tube — the underground
  14. wound — an injury
  15. tube — a container
  16. bound — obliged
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. bound — tied together
  19. race — a contest
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. snap — to click
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wake — a trail

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