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

Word bank: ground · race · capital · firm · pit · band

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. firm — a company
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. ground — crushed
  5. pit — a hole
  6. firm — steady
  7. capital — money
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. race — a contest
  10. pit — in a race
  11. band — a ring
  12. firm — decided
  13. ground — the earth
  14. race — humankind
  15. ground — a position
  16. race — the arms race
  17. band — a music group
  18. capital — a city

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