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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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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: mine · rule · hide · fork · race · capital

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. capital — a city
  7. race — a contest
  8. rule — a law
  9. fork — in a road
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. race — the arms race
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. rule — government
  17. mine — for digging
  18. race — humankind

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