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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. rest — what's left
  3. hand — in cards
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. bear — the animal
  6. hand — help
  7. capital — money
  8. rest — what's left
  9. race — a contest
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. bark — to shout
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. rest — a break
  14. cap — a lid
  15. bear — the animal
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — moving air
  20. cap — a hat
  21. cap — of ice
  22. race — humankind
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. capital — a city

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