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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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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: capital · bowl · ball · drill · race · fan · foot · cold

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. race — the arms race
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. foot — a measure
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. race — humankind
  10. cold — an illness
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. capital — a city
  15. drill — the tool
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. drill — a practice
  18. ball — a great time
  19. race — a contest
  20. drill — army training
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. cold — not warm
  23. ball — a dance
  24. cold — the Cold War

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