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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. race — a contest
  3. season — of the year
  4. game — a match
  5. face — to point toward
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. race — humankind
  8. face — to confront
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. race — the arms race
  11. tear — to rip
  12. tear — from crying
  13. capital — a city
  14. staff — a stick
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. tear — from crying
  17. staff — employees
  18. game — wild animals
  19. capital — money
  20. bass — low music
  21. season — in sport
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. bass — the fish
  24. face — part of the head

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