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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 116 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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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: capital · stock · race · wound · safe · mine · lean · chair

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. race — a contest
  4. lean — thin
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. wound — an injury
  8. capital — a city
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. capital — money
  11. mine — for digging
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. lean — to bend
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. stock — shares
  16. stock — goods
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. chair — a leader
  19. race — the arms race
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. race — humankind
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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