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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: chip · last · race · cabinet · capital · drill · object · wake

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. drill — a practice
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. race — the arms race
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. drill — the tool
  8. object — a thing
  9. last — to go on
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. wake — a trail
  13. capital — money
  14. object — an aim
  15. object — to protest
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. race — humankind
  18. race — a contest
  19. last — finally
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. chip — to eat
  22. drill — army training
  23. chip — for betting
  24. capital — a city

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