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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. race — a contest
  3. rock — music
  4. kid — child
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. capital — a city
  8. cap — a lid
  9. race — humankind
  10. clip — a video
  11. clip — for paper
  12. race — the arms race
  13. kid — to tease
  14. can — to be able to
  15. rock — a stone
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. can — a tin
  18. fork — in a road
  19. cap — of ice
  20. capital — money
  21. clip — to cut
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. cap — a hat

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