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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: rash · fan · race · foot · snap · band · squash · capital

  1. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. capital — a city
  3. race — the arms race
  4. snap — to click
  5. race — a contest
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. race — humankind
  8. foot — a measure
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. squash — to crush
  14. rash — hasty
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. squash — the sport
  20. band — a music group
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. capital — money
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. band — a ring

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