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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. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. cell — a phone
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. board — to get on
  5. cell — in biology
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. pitch — completely
  8. race — humankind
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. lie — to recline
  13. board — a committee
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. capital — money
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. race — a contest
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. capital — a city
  24. race — the arms race

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