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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. race — humankind
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. band — a ring
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. band — a music group
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. pop — music
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. rash — hasty
  12. rash — a series
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. net — in sport
  15. race — a contest
  16. race — the arms race
  17. game — a match
  18. capital — a city
  19. net — after costs
  20. net — for catching
  21. pop — to visit
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. game — wild animals
  24. pop — soda

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