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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: race · coach · wind · drill · club · capital

  1. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. capital — a city
  4. wind — moving air
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. drill — army training
  7. club — for golf
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. club — a group
  10. race — humankind
  11. club — for dancing
  12. wind — moving air
  13. race — the arms race
  14. race — a contest
  15. drill — the tool
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. drill — a practice
  18. capital — money

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