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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: capital · rock · race · last · safe · kid

  1. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. last — final
  3. kid — to tease
  4. rock — music
  5. capital — money
  6. race — humankind
  7. capital — a city
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. race — a contest
  11. kid — child
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. last — finally
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. last — to go on
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. race — the arms race

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