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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: bear · race · capital · chest · arm · snap

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. snap — to click
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. race — humankind
  9. race — the arms race
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. race — a contest
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chest — of your body
  14. bear — the animal
  15. bear — the animal
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. capital — money
  18. chest — a box

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