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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: cue · wound · capital · last · bank · sharp · shower · race

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  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. capital — a big letter
  2. bank — for money
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. last — finally
  5. cue — for pool
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. shower — to wash
  8. sharp — clever
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. bank — of a river
  11. wound — an injury
  12. capital — a city
  13. race — the arms race
  14. wound — an injury
  15. cue — a hint
  16. last — to go on
  17. last — final
  18. shower — rain
  19. cue — a signal
  20. capital — money
  21. race — a contest
  22. bank — for money
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  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