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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. fork — in a road
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. capital — a city
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. race — a contest
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. band — a ring
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. race — the arms race
  18. chair — a leader
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. band — a music group
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. race — humankind
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. capital — money

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