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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. capital — a city
  3. cap — a hat
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. pop — soda
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. cap — of ice
  8. capital — money
  9. hand — in cards
  10. board — to get on
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. hand — help
  14. pop — music
  15. stand — to bear
  16. board — a committee
  17. pop — to visit
  18. march — the month
  19. march — the month
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. race — humankind
  22. march — music
  23. race — a contest
  24. cap — a lid

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