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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 116 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: bat · sharp · race · tear · track · shower · key · capital

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. race — the arms race
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. shower — to wash
  5. sharp — clever
  6. tear — to rip
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. track — to keep track
  9. race — humankind
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. track — a song
  13. tear — from crying
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. key — for a lock
  16. tear — from crying
  17. race — a contest
  18. key — the most important part
  19. bat — the animal
  20. key — in music
  21. shower — rain
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. capital — a city
  24. track — a path

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