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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. current — of water
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. last — to go on
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. capital — a city
  8. toast — bread
  9. pit — in a race
  10. last — finally
  11. race — humankind
  12. rule — government
  13. current — electric
  14. race — a contest
  15. rule — a law
  16. capital — money
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. spring — a coil
  19. current — happening now
  20. last — final
  21. spring — the season
  22. spring — of water
  23. race — the arms race
  24. rule — to rule out

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