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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: race · capital · tube · craft · stand · last · scale · fan

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. scale — size or range
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. capital — money
  6. last — final
  7. tube — the underground
  8. craft — boats
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. scale — in music
  11. last — finally
  12. tube — a container
  13. capital — a city
  14. race — the arms race
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. stand — to bear
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. last — to go on
  20. race — a contest
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. race — humankind
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. craft — a skill

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