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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.

Make a worksheet

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: rush · safe · bound · hide · chair · cold · capital · content

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. rush — hurry
  3. capital — a city
  4. bound — obliged
  5. bound — certain
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. content — the amount
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. capital — money
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. cold — not warm
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. chair — a leader
  21. content — happy
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. bound — tied together

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