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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: deal · wave · capital · row · race · mate

  1. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  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. deal — to handle
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. mate — a partner
  4. row — a line
  5. capital — money
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. race — humankind
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. mate — a friend
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. capital — a city
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. row — to paddle
  16. mate — to breed
  17. race — a contest
  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