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

  1. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. pop — to visit
  4. capital — a city
  5. hand — help
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. drill — army training
  8. mine — for digging
  9. pitch — completely
  10. drill — a practice
  11. drill — the tool
  12. capital — money
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. pop — soda
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. pop — music
  19. game — a match
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. game — wild animals
  23. hand — in cards
  24. safe — out of danger

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