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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 116 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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  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. race — a contest
  2. kid — to tease
  3. race — humankind
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. capital — a city
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. bear — the animal
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. bear — the animal
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. court — of a king
  15. last — finally
  16. capital — money
  17. last — final
  18. court — for sport
  19. court — of law
  20. kid — child
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. last — to go on
  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