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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: mate · capital · race · nail · squash · straw · drill · lie

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. race — the arms race
  3. squash — to crush
  4. drill — army training
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. drill — the tool
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. mate — to breed
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. race — a contest
  11. capital — money
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. squash — the sport
  15. drill — a practice
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. lie — to recline
  18. capital — a city
  19. mate — a partner
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. race — humankind
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. nail — for a hammer

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