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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. race — a contest
  3. race — the arms race
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. rash — a series
  7. pop — soda
  8. pop — to visit
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. kid — to tease
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. rash — hasty
  15. capital — money
  16. race — humankind
  17. capital — a city
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. tube — a container
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. tube — the underground
  23. pop — music
  24. kid — child

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