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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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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: race · stick · last · patient · bay · chip · capital · cold

  1. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — to keep at bay
  2. capital — money
  3. race — a contest
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. cold — an illness
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. capital — a city
  11. last — final
  12. last — to go on
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. race — the arms race
  15. chip — to eat
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. race — humankind
  19. last — finally
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. cold — not warm
  23. chip — for betting
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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