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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 · capital · scale · wind · sharp · content · chip · race

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. race — humankind
  3. chip — for betting
  4. scale — in music
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. capital — money
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. content — the amount
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. wind — moving air
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. scale — size or range
  17. race — a contest
  18. wind — moving air
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. chip — to eat
  22. content — happy
  23. capital — a city
  24. race — the arms race

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