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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 124 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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. race — a contest
  6. track — a path
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. squash — to crush
  10. race — the arms race
  11. capital — money
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. squash — the sport
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. prune — to trim
  17. track — to keep track
  18. race — humankind
  19. track — a song
  20. prune — to trim
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. mine — for digging

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