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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: bank · pitcher · kid · capital · dip · hand · race · game

  1. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. hand — in cards
  3. race — the arms race
  4. capital — a city
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. game — wild animals
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. game — a match
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. race — a contest
  12. kid — to tease
  13. kid — child
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. bank — of a river
  16. capital — money
  17. bank — for money
  18. hand — help
  19. bank — for money
  20. dip — to sink
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. race — humankind

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