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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: race · kick · sharp · capital · toast · row · patient · bowl

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. toast — bread
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. capital — money
  8. sharp — clever
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. race — the arms race
  11. race — humankind
  12. race — a contest
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. capital — a city
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. row — a line
  20. row — to paddle
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. kick — in football
  24. patient — a sick person

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