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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. mug — a face
  4. wind — moving air
  5. mug — a cup
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. race — humankind
  8. saw — the tool
  9. mug — to rob
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. saw — the tool
  13. spring — a coil
  14. spring — the season
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. capital — a city
  18. capital — money
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. spring — of water
  22. race — a contest
  23. wind — moving air
  24. chair — a leader

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