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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: pit · content · mine · chest · race · ruler · capital · rush

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. chest — of your body
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. race — a contest
  7. capital — a city
  8. content — the amount
  9. capital — money
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. content — happy
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. pit — a hole
  14. rush — hurry
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. mine — for digging
  18. chest — of your body
  19. race — humankind
  20. chest — a box
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. pit — in a race
  24. rush — a thrill

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