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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: snap · craft · lie · capital · hand · pitcher · court · race

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. race — a contest
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. race — the arms race
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. court — of a king
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. race — humankind
  12. craft — boats
  13. lie — to recline
  14. capital — a city
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. hand — help
  18. craft — a skill
  19. snap — to click
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. court — of law
  22. court — for sport
  23. capital — money
  24. hand — in cards

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