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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. race — the arms race
  3. fall — to drop
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. fork — in a road
  6. wound — an injury
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. race — a contest
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. fall — the season
  13. race — humankind
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. plane — a tool
  16. scale — size or range
  17. capital — a city
  18. capital — money
  19. wound — an injury
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. scale — in music
  22. fall — to drop
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. plane — in geometry

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