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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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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: craft · capital · pitch · can · tear · arm · sharp · race

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. capital — money
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. craft — boats
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. can — a tin
  7. race — humankind
  8. can — to be able to
  9. tear — to rip
  10. can — a tin
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. craft — a skill
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. tear — from crying
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. capital — a city
  19. race — a contest
  20. tear — from crying
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. race — the arms race
  24. pitch — completely

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