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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. rest — what's left
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. file — a line of people
  5. file — a document
  6. race — humankind
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. file — a tool
  10. root — of a plant
  11. roll — a list
  12. race — the arms race
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. root — of a word
  15. capital — a city
  16. capital — money
  17. rest — a break
  18. wind — moving air
  19. root — the cause
  20. roll — a cake
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. rest — what's left
  23. wind — moving air
  24. race — a contest

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