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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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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 · nail · cap · mine · lie · wind · capital · stand

  1. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. lie — to recline
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. race — a contest
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — moving air
  12. cap — a hat
  13. cap — of ice
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. race — humankind
  17. capital — money
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. race — the arms race
  21. mine — for digging
  22. capital — a city
  23. cap — a lid
  24. stand — for spectators

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