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

Word bank: snap · capital · bay · tear · race · can

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. capital — money
  3. snap — to click
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. capital — a city
  7. tear — from crying
  8. tear — to rip
  9. race — a contest
  10. race — the arms race
  11. can — a tin
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. tear — from crying
  16. can — a tin
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. race — humankind

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