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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 116 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: land · march · capital · hand · deal · wound · charge · safe

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. march — the month
  3. march — music
  4. wound — an injury
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. hand — in cards
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. wound — an injury
  10. charge — in control
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. hand — help
  13. land — ground
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. charge — electricity
  16. deal — to handle
  17. land — to come down
  18. capital — money
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. march — the month
  23. land — a country
  24. charge — a price

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