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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: key · race · court · rule · snap · tear · spring · capital

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. spring — a coil
  3. court — for sport
  4. key — in music
  5. capital — a city
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. tear — from crying
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. spring — of water
  10. race — a contest
  11. capital — money
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. tear — from crying
  14. court — of a king
  15. key — for a lock
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. key — the most important part
  18. race — humankind
  19. tear — to rip
  20. rule — a law
  21. snap — to click
  22. spring — the season
  23. court — of law
  24. rule — government

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