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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's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. race — the arms race
  3. chair — a leader
  4. can — a tin
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. can — to be able to
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. pitch — completely
  9. spring — the season
  10. race — humankind
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. scale — size or range
  13. scale — in music
  14. race — a contest
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. can — a tin
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. spring — a coil
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. last — to go on
  21. last — final
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. last — finally
  24. spring — of water

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