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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: charge · safe · temple · cold · capital · bark · fall · patient

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. fall — to drop
  5. cold — not warm
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. capital — a city
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. bark — to shout
  13. cold — an illness
  14. capital — money
  15. charge — electricity
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. charge — a price
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. fall — the season
  23. charge — in control
  24. cold — the Cold War

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