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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. rock — music
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. track — to keep track
  5. capital — a city
  6. bound — certain
  7. track — a path
  8. rock — a stone
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. bound — tied together
  11. track — a song
  12. bound — obliged
  13. deal — to handle
  14. net — for catching
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. race — a contest
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. capital — money
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. race — the arms race
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. race — humankind
  24. net — after costs

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