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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 · straw · stock · chair · track · capital

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  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. straw — a straw man
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. race — humankind
  5. stock — shares
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. race — a contest
  8. track — to keep track
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. track — a song
  12. chair — a leader
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. capital — money
  16. track — a path
  17. stock — goods
  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