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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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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: mark · race · lie · scale · rush · patient · capital · pop

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. capital — a city
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. lie — to recline
  8. race — a contest
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. scale — in music
  12. race — the arms race
  13. mark — a trace
  14. pop — music
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. race — humankind
  18. pop — soda
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. capital — money
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. scale — size or range
  23. mark — a grade
  24. pop — to visit

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