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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. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. last — final
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. prune — to trim
  6. bat — the animal
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. capital — a city
  9. capital — money
  10. race — humankind
  11. race — a contest
  12. ground — a position
  13. fork — in a road
  14. last — finally
  15. ground — crushed
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. prune — to trim
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. ground — the earth
  23. last — to go on
  24. race — the arms race

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