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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 · pit · coach · chest · bulb · row · rest · capital

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. pit — in a race
  4. pit — a hole
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. rest — what's left
  8. rest — what's left
  9. row — to paddle
  10. race — humankind
  11. capital — money
  12. race — a contest
  13. race — the arms race
  14. capital — a city
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. bulb — for light
  18. chest — a box
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. row — a line
  22. chest — of your body
  23. chest — of your body
  24. bulb — for light

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