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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: land · craft · race · mug · pitcher · hide · capital · clip

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. mug — to rob
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. land — to come down
  5. race — a contest
  6. capital — a city
  7. land — a country
  8. mug — a face
  9. clip — a video
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. capital — money
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. race — the arms race
  14. craft — boats
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. land — ground
  18. clip — for paper
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. clip — to cut
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. craft — a skill
  24. mug — a cup

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