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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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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 · wound · race · chip · file · straw · tube · staff

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. tube — a container
  3. race — humankind
  4. chip — for betting
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. staff — employees
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. wound — an injury
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. tube — the underground
  12. staff — a stick
  13. file — a line of people
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. capital — money
  16. capital — a city
  17. race — the arms race
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. chip — to eat
  20. file — a document
  21. wound — an injury
  22. file — a tool
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. staff — employees

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