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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: capital · cell · chest · race · mouse · ball · coach · degree

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. capital — a city
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. cell — in biology
  5. ball — a dance
  6. ball — a great time
  7. chest — of your body
  8. chest — a box
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. cell — a phone
  11. race — a contest
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. race — the arms race
  14. degree — temperature
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. degree — from a university
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. chest — of your body
  20. capital — money
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. degree — an amount
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. mouse — for a computer

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