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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. toast — bread
  3. capital — money
  4. key — for a lock
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. race — a contest
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. capital — a city
  11. key — in music
  12. spring — the season
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. spring — a coil
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. key — the most important part
  18. race — humankind
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. spring — of water
  21. sharp — clever
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. pitch — completely

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