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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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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: sharp · capital · racket · chest · pit · mug · wind · wound

  1. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. mug — a face
  4. pit — in a race
  5. wound — an injury
  6. chest — of your body
  7. sharp — clever
  8. wind — moving air
  9. capital — money
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. mug — to rob
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. chest — of your body
  18. chest — a box
  19. pit — a hole
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wind — moving air
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. capital — a city
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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