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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. last — to go on
  3. race — the arms race
  4. game — wild animals
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. race — humankind
  7. race — a contest
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. can — a tin
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. prune — to trim
  14. capital — a city
  15. mine — for digging
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. can — a tin
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. capital — money
  21. can — to be able to
  22. last — finally
  23. prune — to trim
  24. last — final

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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