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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. track — to keep track
  3. capital — money
  4. club — for dancing
  5. track — a path
  6. pitch — completely
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. race — a contest
  9. track — a song
  10. court — for sport
  11. race — the arms race
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. can — a tin
  14. club — for golf
  15. court — of law
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. capital — a city
  18. can — to be able to
  19. race — humankind
  20. season — in sport
  21. court — of a king
  22. season — of the year
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. club — a group

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