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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. capital — a city
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. club — for golf
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. snap — to click
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. race — the arms race
  10. club — a group
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. shower — to wash
  13. board — to get on
  14. board — a committee
  15. row — a line
  16. shower — rain
  17. race — a contest
  18. capital — money
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. wake — a trail
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. club — for dancing
  24. row — to paddle

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