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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: race · capital · date · drill · wake · snap · arm · pitcher

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. race — humankind
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. wake — a trail
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. date — the fruit
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. race — the arms race
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. drill — the tool
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. drill — a practice
  19. snap — to click
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. capital — money
  22. capital — a city
  23. drill — army training
  24. race — a contest

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