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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: degree · capital · race · pound · band · pit · chest · branch

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. race — humankind
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. pound — a weight
  5. branch — a division
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. degree — an amount
  8. pit — in a race
  9. band — a music group
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. band — a ring
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. chest — a box
  14. degree — from a university
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. degree — temperature
  18. race — a contest
  19. chest — of your body
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. chest — of your body
  22. pit — a hole
  23. capital — money
  24. capital — a city

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