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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: nail · scale · capital · race · kid · object

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. object — a thing
  3. object — to protest
  4. scale — in music
  5. capital — money
  6. race — humankind
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. race — a contest
  9. kid — child
  10. object — an aim
  11. kid — to tease
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. scale — size or range
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. race — the arms race
  18. nail — on a finger

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