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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: mate · pop · capital · rest · race · file · toast · court

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  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. race — a contest
  2. court — of law
  3. mate — to breed
  4. toast — bread
  5. file — a line of people
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. court — of a king
  8. rest — what's left
  9. file — a tool
  10. race — humankind
  11. capital — money
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. pop — music
  15. rest — a break
  16. rest — what's left
  17. pop — soda
  18. pop — to visit
  19. mate — a partner
  20. capital — a city
  21. file — a document
  22. court — for sport
  23. mate — a friend
  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