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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: arm · wake · ground · race · squash · dip · capital · toast

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. race — humankind
  3. ground — the earth
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. toast — bread
  7. race — a contest
  8. ground — a position
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. wake — a trail
  13. squash — the sport
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. capital — money
  17. squash — to crush
  18. capital — a city
  19. race — the arms race
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. ground — crushed
  24. dip — to sink

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