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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 116 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: tear · chair · pass · race · capital · hand

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. chair — a leader
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. capital — money
  5. tear — from crying
  6. race — a contest
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. hand — in cards
  9. tear — to rip
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. pass — a permit
  12. tear — from crying
  13. capital — a city
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. race — the arms race
  16. hand — help
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. pass — to spend time

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