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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: rule · capital · race · straw · stock · press · cold · firm

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. race — a contest
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. press — newspapers
  7. press — a publisher
  8. firm — steady
  9. cold — an illness
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. firm — decided
  13. race — the arms race
  14. firm — a company
  15. stock — goods
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. capital — money
  18. stock — shares
  19. press — to push
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. rule — government
  22. race — humankind
  23. rule — a law
  24. cold — not warm

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