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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: sharp · race · can · capital · pit · staff · row · cap

  1. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. staff — a stick
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. race — a contest
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. cap — of ice
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. staff — employees
  10. staff — employees
  11. can — to be able to
  12. can — a tin
  13. cap — a hat
  14. sharp — clever
  15. race — the arms race
  16. capital — money
  17. row — to paddle
  18. race — humankind
  19. cap — a lid
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. pit — in a race
  22. capital — a city
  23. row — a line
  24. pit — a hole

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