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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: ground · capital · court · wind · press · safe · saw · tube

  1. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. court — of law
  3. tube — the underground
  4. ground — a position
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. wind — moving air
  7. saw — the tool
  8. wind — moving air
  9. ground — crushed
  10. press — newspapers
  11. press — a publisher
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. saw — the tool
  15. ground — the earth
  16. court — of a king
  17. court — for sport
  18. tube — a container
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. capital — money
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. press — to push
  24. capital — a city

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