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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: capital · lash · staff · fall · race · hide

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. staff — employees
  3. capital — a city
  4. race — humankind
  5. fall — to drop
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. fall — the season
  12. capital — money
  13. fall — to drop
  14. staff — a stick
  15. race — the arms race
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. staff — employees
  18. hide — animal skin

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