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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. rest — what's left
  3. pop — soda
  4. race — humankind
  5. cap — a hat
  6. race — a contest
  7. rest — a break
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. capital — money
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. pop — to visit
  12. cap — of ice
  13. pop — music
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. race — the arms race
  16. cap — a lid
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. rest — what's left
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. patient — a sick person

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