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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. race — humankind
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. race — a contest
  5. rash — a series
  6. pop — soda
  7. pop — music
  8. season — in sport
  9. season — of the year
  10. capital — a city
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. race — the arms race
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. rash — hasty
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. pop — to visit
  18. perch — the fish
  19. deal — to handle
  20. saw — the tool
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. capital — money
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. deal — a big deal

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