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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 120 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: net · race · sharp · arm · cue · capital · lean · stock

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. cue — for pool
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. lean — thin
  5. cue — a hint
  6. net — for catching
  7. sharp — clever
  8. net — in sport
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. cue — a signal
  11. lean — to bend
  12. race — a contest
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. race — humankind
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. capital — a city
  20. capital — money
  21. race — the arms race
  22. stock — goods
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. net — after costs

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