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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: straw · cap · chair · capital · net · mouse · safe · wound

  1. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. wound — an injury
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. net — after costs
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. cap — a hat
  8. cap — a lid
  9. capital — money
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. capital — a city
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. chair — a leader
  15. net — for catching
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. net — in sport
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. cap — of ice
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. wound — an injury

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