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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: band · wave · chair · capital · bay · field · race · cap

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. cap — of ice
  7. cap — a lid
  8. race — the arms race
  9. band — a ring
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. field — farmland
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. race — a contest
  16. race — humankind
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. capital — a city
  19. cap — a hat
  20. capital — money
  21. band — a music group
  22. field — a subject
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. field — for sport

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