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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. saw — the tool
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. saw — the tool
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. race — humankind
  13. race — a contest
  14. race — the arms race
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. pit — a hole
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. cell — a phone
  20. cell — in biology
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. rush — hurry
  23. pit — in a race
  24. capital — money

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