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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 ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. rest — a break
  3. capital — money
  4. wind — moving air
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. prune — to trim
  8. wind — moving air
  9. chip — for betting
  10. rest — what's left
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. chip — to eat
  13. race — the arms race
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. dip — to sink
  17. race — humankind
  18. drill — the tool
  19. drill — a practice
  20. race — a contest
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. prune — to trim
  23. capital — a city
  24. drill — army training

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