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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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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: coach · wind · stock · capital · race · file

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. stock — goods
  3. wind — moving air
  4. capital — a city
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. race — a contest
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. stock — shares
  12. capital — money
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. file — a line of people
  15. race — humankind
  16. file — a document
  17. race — the arms race
  18. wind — moving air

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