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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: capital · shower · patient · cold · safe · cell

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. cell — a phone
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. shower — rain
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. cold — an illness
  7. capital — money
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. cold — not warm
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. capital — a city
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. shower — to wash
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. capital — a big letter

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