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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: pit · race · capital · trunk · fork · last · rush · net

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. last — final
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. race — humankind
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. race — a contest
  8. last — finally
  9. rush — hurry
  10. race — the arms race
  11. net — for catching
  12. last — to go on
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. pit — a hole
  17. net — after costs
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. fork — in a road
  21. net — in sport
  22. pit — in a race
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. capital — a city

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