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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. object — a thing
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. race — humankind
  5. season — in sport
  6. cell — a phone
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. fine — all right
  10. ground — the earth
  11. race — a contest
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. saw — the tool
  15. capital — a city
  16. ground — crushed
  17. object — an aim
  18. saw — the tool
  19. fine — high quality
  20. ground — a position
  21. season — of the year
  22. race — the arms race
  23. capital — money
  24. object — to protest

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