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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. ground — crushed
  3. ground — a position
  4. ground — the earth
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. capital — money
  7. scale — size or range
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. race — a contest
  10. race — the arms race
  11. scale — in music
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. game — a match
  17. mine — for digging
  18. bore — to tire
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. capital — a city
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. race — humankind
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. bore — to drill

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