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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. race — a contest
  3. march — the month
  4. wake — a trail
  5. kid — child
  6. march — the month
  7. content — the amount
  8. bore — to tire
  9. prune — to trim
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. race — the arms race
  12. bore — to drill
  13. race — humankind
  14. march — music
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. content — happy
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. kid — to tease
  20. capital — a city
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. prune — to trim
  24. capital — a big letter

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