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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 120 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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. suit — to fit
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. capital — money
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. hand — in cards
  7. hand — help
  8. capital — a city
  9. mate — to breed
  10. race — humankind
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. suit — clothes
  13. file — a tool
  14. mate — a partner
  15. suit — in cards
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. file — a document
  18. file — a line of people
  19. mate — a friend
  20. rush — hurry
  21. race — a contest
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. mine — for digging

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