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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  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. capital — a big letter
  2. object — to protest
  3. mug — a cup
  4. shower — rain
  5. object — an aim
  6. season — in sport
  7. race — humankind
  8. mug — to rob
  9. present — a gift
  10. object — a thing
  11. present — the time now
  12. row — a line
  13. capital — money
  14. shower — to wash
  15. race — the arms race
  16. capital — a city
  17. present — there
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. season — of the year
  20. row — to paddle
  21. mug — a face
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. season — to add flavour
  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