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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 · capital · root · file · chair · band

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. band — a music group
  3. file — a document
  4. race — the arms race
  5. band — a ring
  6. file — a tool
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. race — a contest
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. race — humankind
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. capital — a city
  13. root — of a word
  14. root — the cause
  15. root — of a plant
  16. chair — a leader
  17. capital — money
  18. band — a rubber band

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