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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: capital · bat · race · fine · staff · rest

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  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. fine — high quality
  2. staff — employees
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. staff — employees
  6. capital — a city
  7. race — humankind
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. race — a contest
  10. rest — what's left
  11. capital — money
  12. rest — what's left
  13. rest — a break
  14. bat — the animal
  15. fine — all right
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. staff — a stick
  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