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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: chair · safe · kid · capital · race · toast

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. race — humankind
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. kid — child
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. capital — a city
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. race — the arms race
  13. toast — bread
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. race — a contest
  17. capital — money
  18. kid — to tease

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