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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: safe · press · race · capital · cold · pit

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. race — the arms race
  3. race — a contest
  4. cold — not warm
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. race — humankind
  9. capital — a city
  10. press — to push
  11. cold — an illness
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. press — a publisher
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. pit — a hole
  16. pit — in a race
  17. press — newspapers
  18. capital — money

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