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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. saw — the tool
  3. bass — the fish
  4. race — a contest
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. game — wild animals
  7. bass — low music
  8. spell — magic
  9. capital — money
  10. race — the arms race
  11. firm — decided
  12. game — a match
  13. race — humankind
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. hand — in cards
  17. hand — help
  18. firm — a company
  19. spell — a short time
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. spell — letters
  22. saw — the tool
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. firm — steady

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