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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: wake · race · stick · capital · craft · march

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. capital — money
  4. capital — a city
  5. craft — boats
  6. craft — a skill
  7. race — a contest
  8. race — humankind
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. march — music
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. race — the arms race
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. march — the month
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. wake — a trail
  18. wake — to stop sleeping

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