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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: wound · shower · land · kid · spring · capital · safe · pass

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. spring — the season
  4. capital — a city
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. spring — of water
  8. kid — to tease
  9. wound — an injury
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. spring — a coil
  13. wound — an injury
  14. shower — to wash
  15. pass — a permit
  16. land — to come down
  17. shower — rain
  18. land — a country
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. capital — money
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. kid — child
  24. land — ground

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