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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: rest · race · cabinet · wound · last · capital · hand · sharp

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. wound — an injury
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. capital — money
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. sharp — clever
  7. hand — in cards
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. race — the arms race
  10. rest — a break
  11. last — final
  12. rest — what's left
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. capital — a city
  15. last — to go on
  16. rest — what's left
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. last — finally
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. race — humankind
  22. race — a contest
  23. hand — help
  24. wound — an injury

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