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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. capital — a city
  5. race — the arms race
  6. wind — moving air
  7. capital — money
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. race — humankind
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. file — a line of people
  12. plane — a tool
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. chip — for betting
  15. chip — to eat
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. wind — moving air
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. file — a document
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. race — a contest
  24. file — a tool

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