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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. race — the arms race
  3. race — a contest
  4. file — a tool
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. capital — money
  7. dip — to sink
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. file — a document
  11. deal — to handle
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. race — humankind
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. game — a match
  17. file — a line of people
  18. cold — not warm
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. game — wild animals
  21. cold — an illness
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. dip — a sauce

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