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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 120 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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. last — final
  4. race — a contest
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. last — to go on
  8. current — happening now
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. game — a match
  11. game — wild animals
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. current — electric
  14. capital — a city
  15. capital — money
  16. race — the arms race
  17. race — humankind
  18. cold — an illness
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. current — of water
  23. foot — a measure
  24. cold — not warm

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