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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. wound — an injury
  4. last — finally
  5. capital — a city
  6. last — to go on
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. ground — the earth
  12. hand — help
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. ground — a position
  16. hand — in cards
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. last — final
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. capital — money
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. ground — crushed

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