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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: wake · capital · race · staff · rest · snap

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. rest — what's left
  3. snap — to click
  4. rest — what's left
  5. wake — a trail
  6. race — a contest
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. staff — a stick
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. race — humankind
  13. race — the arms race
  14. capital — money
  15. capital — a city
  16. rest — a break
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. staff — employees

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