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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: race · craft · coach · fan · capital · chair · racket · chest

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. chair — a leader
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. chest — of your body
  5. craft — a skill
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. chest — a box
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. capital — money
  12. capital — a city
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. chest — of your body
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. race — a contest
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. race — humankind
  24. craft — boats

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