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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 120 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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. can — a tin
  3. can — to be able to
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. root — of a word
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. can — a tin
  9. degree — temperature
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. pitch — completely
  12. root — of a plant
  13. degree — an amount
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. degree — from a university
  16. race — a contest
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. capital — a city
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. race — the arms race
  21. root — the cause
  22. capital — money
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. race — humankind

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