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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. cap — a hat
  4. bat — the animal
  5. race — humankind
  6. tube — the underground
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. cap — of ice
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. capital — a city
  12. hand — help
  13. race — a contest
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. cap — a lid
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. hand — in cards
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. capital — money
  23. tube — a container
  24. bowl — to roll

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