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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. drill — army training
  3. drill — a practice
  4. chip — for betting
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. race — a contest
  8. capital — money
  9. degree — temperature
  10. drill — the tool
  11. squash — the sport
  12. ball — a dance
  13. file — a document
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. squash — to crush
  16. file — a line of people
  17. degree — from a university
  18. race — humankind
  19. chip — to eat
  20. file — a tool
  21. degree — an amount
  22. ball — a great time
  23. race — the arms race
  24. capital — a big letter

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