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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: straw · march · nail · capital · race · stem

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. march — the month
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. march — the month
  11. race — a contest
  12. march — music
  13. stem — to come from
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. race — the arms race
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. capital — money
  18. race — humankind

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