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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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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: scale · club · mine · race · capital · staff

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. race — a contest
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. club — a group
  5. staff — employees
  6. capital — money
  7. club — for golf
  8. race — humankind
  9. scale — size or range
  10. club — for dancing
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. mine — for digging
  13. staff — employees
  14. scale — in music
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. staff — a stick
  17. race — the arms race
  18. scale — for weighing

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