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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 · file · race · hide · bear · capital

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. bear — the animal
  4. file — a tool
  5. bear — the animal
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. file — a line of people
  9. capital — a city
  10. race — humankind
  11. race — the arms race
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. file — a document
  14. race — a contest
  15. capital — money
  16. chair — a leader
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. capital — a big letter

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