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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. race — humankind
  4. present — there
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. game — wild animals
  7. capital — money
  8. race — a contest
  9. present — the time now
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. track — to keep track
  12. present — a gift
  13. track — a path
  14. wind — moving air
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. staff — employees
  17. staff — employees
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. capital — a city
  20. game — a match
  21. race — the arms race
  22. wind — moving air
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. track — a song

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