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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. row — a line
  3. capital — money
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. race — a contest
  6. capital — a city
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. face — to point toward
  9. row — to paddle
  10. saw — the tool
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. squash — the sport
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. face — part of the head
  17. squash — to crush
  18. face — to confront
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. race — the arms race
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. nail — on a finger
  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