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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 · fork · hide · capital · club · fan

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. race — the arms race
  5. capital — a city
  6. club — for dancing
  7. club — for golf
  8. fork — in a road
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. capital — money
  11. race — a contest
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. club — a group
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. race — humankind

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