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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 ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  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. coach — a trainer
  2. wind — moving air
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. capital — a city
  6. race — a contest
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. ground — crushed
  9. ground — a position
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. capital — money
  12. ground — the earth
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. craft — a skill
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tear — to rip
  18. tear — from crying
  19. wind — moving air
  20. race — humankind
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. craft — boats
  23. wind — to turn a key
  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