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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 120 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: capital · chest · stock · tube · safe · straw · saw · race

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. tube — the underground
  3. capital — a city
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. tube — a container
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. chest — a box
  8. race — the arms race
  9. chest — of your body
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. stock — shares
  14. saw — the tool
  15. saw — the tool
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. chest — of your body
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. capital — money
  21. race — humankind
  22. stock — goods
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. safe — out of danger

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