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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: stock · race · capital · pit · chair · swing

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. capital — money
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. stock — goods
  5. swing — to play on
  6. pit — in a race
  7. race — a contest
  8. chair — a leader
  9. race — the arms race
  10. race — humankind
  11. swing — in golf
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. capital — a city
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. stock — shares
  17. swing — music
  18. chair — to sit on

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