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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: nail · press · squash · temple · capital · clip · race · ball

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. clip — to cut
  4. race — the arms race
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. clip — for paper
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. squash — to crush
  12. press — newspapers
  13. capital — a city
  14. press — a publisher
  15. capital — money
  16. ball — a great time
  17. ball — a dance
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. clip — a video
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. press — to push
  22. squash — the sport
  23. race — humankind
  24. nail — on a finger

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