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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: pass · race · capital · coach · clip · wind

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. race — a contest
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. clip — a video
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. clip — to cut
  8. pass — a permit
  9. capital — a city
  10. race — humankind
  11. race — the arms race
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. capital — money
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. wind — moving air
  17. clip — for paper
  18. coach — pulled by horses

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