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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. club — for dancing
  5. capital — money
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. last — to go on
  8. spring — the season
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. race — a contest
  11. last — final
  12. capital — a city
  13. club — a group
  14. spring — of water
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. race — the arms race
  18. race — humankind
  19. spring — a coil
  20. mine — for digging
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. last — finally
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. leaves — lets stay

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