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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. capital — a city
  3. race — the arms race
  4. bat — the animal
  5. face — to point toward
  6. capital — money
  7. sharp — clever
  8. club — for dancing
  9. face — part of the head
  10. race — humankind
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. plane — a tool
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. club — a group
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. face — to confront
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. race — a contest

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