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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: race · capital · hide · clip · stock · suit

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  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. capital — a city
  2. capital — money
  3. stock — shares
  4. stock — goods
  5. suit — to fit
  6. clip — a video
  7. clip — for paper
  8. race — humankind
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. suit — in cards
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. race — a contest
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. clip — to cut
  17. suit — clothes
  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