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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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Word bank
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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: straw · file · field · capital · scale · race

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. capital — money
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. file — a tool
  6. file — a document
  7. scale — size or range
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. scale — in music
  11. field — a subject
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. race — humankind
  14. capital — a city
  15. field — for sport
  16. field — farmland
  17. race — a contest
  18. file — a line of people

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