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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: track · race · hand · capital · cap · arm · kid · fine

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. track — to keep track
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. capital — money
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. fine — all right
  8. cap — a lid
  9. cap — of ice
  10. race — the arms race
  11. fine — high quality
  12. hand — in cards
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. track — a path
  16. race — humankind
  17. cap — a hat
  18. hand — help
  19. race — a contest
  20. kid — to tease
  21. capital — a city
  22. track — a song
  23. kid — child
  24. arm — a part of something

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