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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. race — a contest
  3. cue — a signal
  4. bound — obliged
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. scale — size or range
  8. last — to go on
  9. last — finally
  10. game — wild animals
  11. game — a match
  12. cue — a hint
  13. cue — for pool
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. capital — money
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. last — final
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. race — humankind
  20. scale — in music
  21. bound — tied together
  22. bound — certain
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. race — the arms race

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