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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. spring — of water
  3. ball — a great time
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. race — the arms race
  6. capital — money
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. race — humankind
  9. net — for catching
  10. spring — a coil
  11. net — after costs
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. race — a contest
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. spring — the season
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. capital — a city
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. game — a match
  23. ball — a dance
  24. net — in sport

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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