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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 120 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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. capital — a city
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. bound — tied together
  7. capital — money
  8. game — a match
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. swing — to play on
  13. prune — to trim
  14. bark — to shout
  15. race — a contest
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. swing — in golf
  18. prune — to trim
  19. game — wild animals
  20. race — humankind
  21. swing — music
  22. bound — certain
  23. bound — obliged
  24. capital — a big letter

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