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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 120 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: foot · race · mine · dip · tear · last · stock · capital

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. tear — from crying
  3. capital — a city
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. race — humankind
  6. race — the arms race
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. tear — from crying
  9. last — final
  10. race — a contest
  11. last — to go on
  12. mine — for digging
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. capital — money
  16. dip — to sink
  17. last — finally
  18. foot — a measure
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. tear — to rip
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. stock — shares
  24. stock — goods

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