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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: club · present · date · race · ball · capital

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. capital — a city
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. capital — money
  6. race — humankind
  7. club — for golf
  8. club — a group
  9. ball — a dance
  10. race — a contest
  11. present — the time now
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. present — there
  14. date — the fruit
  15. race — the arms race
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. present — a gift
  18. club — for dancing

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