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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 · stock · chip · ground · tear · club · race · wave

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. club — for golf
  3. capital — a city
  4. tear — to rip
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. race — humankind
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. capital — money
  9. ground — a position
  10. club — a group
  11. chip — for betting
  12. ground — the earth
  13. tear — from crying
  14. chip — to eat
  15. club — for dancing
  16. stock — goods
  17. stock — shares
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. tear — from crying
  20. ground — crushed
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. race — the arms race

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