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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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. capital — money
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. race — the arms race
  5. land — a country
  6. chest — of your body
  7. race — a contest
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. pass — a permit
  10. pound — a weight
  11. capital — a city
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. kid — child
  15. row — a line
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. row — to paddle
  19. kid — to tease
  20. land — to come down
  21. chest — of your body
  22. chest — a box
  23. race — humankind
  24. land — ground

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