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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: deal · current · capital · wound · race · chest

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. race — a contest
  3. capital — money
  4. wound — an injury
  5. chest — of your body
  6. current — happening now
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. deal — to handle
  10. race — the arms race
  11. chest — a box
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. chest — of your body
  14. current — electric
  15. race — humankind
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. current — of water
  18. capital — a city

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