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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: capital · arm · pit · hand · safe · tear · pound · game

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. game — wild animals
  3. capital — a city
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. game — a match
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. hand — in cards
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. capital — money
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. tear — from crying
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. pound — a weight
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. tear — to rip
  19. pit — in a race
  20. pit — a hole
  21. hand — help
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. tear — from crying
  24. safe — out of danger

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