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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: racket · date · chest · chip · fork · bass · race · capital

  1. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. race — humankind
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. race — a contest
  6. date — the fruit
  7. capital — a city
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. bass — low music
  11. chip — to eat
  12. chest — of your body
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. chip — for betting
  16. capital — money
  17. chest — of your body
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. race — the arms race
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. chest — a box
  22. bass — the fish
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. racket — for tennis

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