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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 112 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: deal · pit · scale · race · capital · tear · mate · cell

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. mate — a partner
  3. cell — in biology
  4. deal — to handle
  5. pit — a hole
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. tear — from crying
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. tear — to rip
  10. tear — from crying
  11. race — the arms race
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. pit — in a race
  15. race — a contest
  16. cell — a phone
  17. capital — money
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. race — humankind
  20. mate — a friend
  21. scale — size or range
  22. scale — in music
  23. mate — to breed
  24. scale — for weighing

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