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

Word bank: key · mate · kick · race · cabinet · capital · cold · ball

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  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. cold — the Cold War
  2. race — a contest
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. cold — an illness
  6. key — in music
  7. capital — money
  8. mate — a partner
  9. ball — a great time
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. mate — to breed
  12. mate — a friend
  13. cold — not warm
  14. key — the most important part
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. kick — in football
  18. ball — a dance
  19. key — for a lock
  20. race — humankind
  21. capital — a city
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  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