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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: cap · straw · calf · pit · race · toast · content · capital

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. race — humankind
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. cap — of ice
  5. race — a contest
  6. pit — a hole
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. capital — a city
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. race — the arms race
  16. toast — bread
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. cap — a hat
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. pit — in a race
  21. cap — a lid
  22. capital — money
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. content — the amount

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