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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: race · chest · march · last · capital · fall · nail · mug

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. fall — to drop
  3. capital — a city
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. chest — a box
  7. march — the month
  8. mug — a cup
  9. chest — of your body
  10. capital — money
  11. chest — of your body
  12. fall — the season
  13. last — to go on
  14. march — the month
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. mug — a face
  17. march — music
  18. race — the arms race
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. last — final
  21. race — humankind
  22. mug — to rob
  23. fall — to drop
  24. last — finally

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