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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: mark · safe · coach · capital · race · clip · kid · bear

  1. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. kid — to tease
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. bear — the animal
  5. bear — the animal
  6. race — the arms race
  7. clip — for paper
  8. mark — a grade
  9. clip — a video
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. clip — to cut
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. race — humankind
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. race — a contest
  19. capital — money
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. kid — child
  22. capital — a city
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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