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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. tube — the underground
  3. net — for catching
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. race — the arms race
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. saw — the tool
  8. race — humankind
  9. ground — the earth
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. net — after costs
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. net — in sport
  14. spell — letters
  15. capital — money
  16. spell — a short time
  17. ground — a position
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. perch — the fish
  20. tube — a container
  21. ground — crushed
  22. race — a contest
  23. spell — magic
  24. saw — the tool

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