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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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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: ground · race · capital · firm · pit · band · pound · tear

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. firm — decided
  3. band — a ring
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. firm — a company
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. ground — crushed
  8. race — the arms race
  9. band — a music group
  10. ground — a position
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. pit — in a race
  13. race — humankind
  14. pit — a hole
  15. tear — to rip
  16. tear — from crying
  17. firm — steady
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. ground — the earth
  20. tear — from crying
  21. race — a contest
  22. capital — a city
  23. pound — a weight
  24. capital — money

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