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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: rock · race · charge · clip · pit · capital

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. capital — money
  3. rock — music
  4. race — a contest
  5. rock — a stone
  6. race — humankind
  7. pit — a hole
  8. clip — to cut
  9. clip — for paper
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. charge — electricity
  13. clip — a video
  14. pit — in a race
  15. charge — in control
  16. capital — a city
  17. race — the arms race
  18. charge — a price

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