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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: safe · straw · plane · cold · capital · wound · root · season

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. root — the cause
  3. season — in sport
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. root — of a word
  11. cold — an illness
  12. capital — money
  13. season — of the year
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. plane — a tool
  19. wound — an injury
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. root — of a plant
  22. capital — a city
  23. wound — an injury
  24. cold — not warm

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