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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. race — humankind
  3. race — the arms race
  4. can — a tin
  5. can — to be able to
  6. chip — for betting
  7. cold — not warm
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. plane — a tool
  11. cold — an illness
  12. capital — money
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. can — a tin
  17. degree — temperature
  18. capital — a city
  19. degree — an amount
  20. race — a contest
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. degree — from a university
  24. chip — to eat

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