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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 · capital · file · court · fork · coach · stand · rash

  1. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — for spectators
  2. court — for sport
  3. file — a line of people
  4. rash — hasty
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. fork — in a road
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. capital — a city
  10. race — a contest
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. rash — a series
  13. file — a document
  14. file — a tool
  15. race — humankind
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. stand — to bear
  18. court — of law
  19. race — the arms race
  20. capital — money
  21. court — of a king
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. coach — a trainer

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