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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. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. club — a group
  4. hand — help
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. club — for dancing
  7. club — for golf
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. race — the arms race
  12. race — humankind
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. row — a line
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. deal — to handle
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. hand — in cards
  20. capital — a city
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. row — to paddle
  23. capital — money
  24. coach — a trainer

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