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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. can — to be able to
  3. capital — a city
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. hand — in cards
  6. firm — decided
  7. race — a contest
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. race — humankind
  11. can — a tin
  12. firm — a company
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. capital — money
  15. hand — help
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. firm — steady
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. can — a tin
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — moving air
  24. race — the arms race

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