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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: capital · date · drill · roll · safe · hand · temple · snap

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. He has no idea where the ________________ is.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. hand — in cards
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. date — the fruit
  8. hand — help
  9. snap — to click
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. drill — the tool
  16. roll — a list
  17. capital — money
  18. roll — a cake
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. drill — a practice
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. drill — army training
  24. safe — a strongbox

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