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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. race — a contest
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. race — humankind
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. dip — to sink
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. last — to go on
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. capital — a city
  12. object — a thing
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. race — the arms race
  16. capital — money
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. object — an aim
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. bat — the animal
  21. object — to protest
  22. last — final
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. last — finally

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