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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: rush · bound · chest · capital · hide · race · rest · wake

  1. That must've been a ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. 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. rush — a thrill
  2. chest — a box
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. rest — what's left
  5. rest — a break
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. chest — of your body
  9. race — humankind
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. race — a contest
  12. chest — of your body
  13. race — the arms race
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. wake — a trail
  16. bound — tied together
  17. capital — a city
  18. rest — what's left
  19. rush — hurry
  20. bound — obliged
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. bound — certain
  23. capital — money
  24. 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