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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 · shower · stand · safe · drill · cell

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. cell — a phone
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. shower — to wash
  5. shower — rain
  6. stand — to bear
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. capital — money
  11. drill — army training
  12. drill — the tool
  13. cell — in biology
  14. drill — a practice
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. safe — a strongbox

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