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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: race · craft · key · foot · date · clip · chest · capital

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. craft — a skill
  4. date — the fruit
  5. clip — for paper
  6. clip — a video
  7. capital — a city
  8. chest — a box
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. foot — a measure
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. race — a contest
  13. race — humankind
  14. key — for a lock
  15. key — in music
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chest — of your body
  21. key — the most important part
  22. race — the arms race
  23. craft — boats
  24. capital — money

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