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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 · kick · wound · safe · drill · chest · chip · fan

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. drill — army training
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. chip — to eat
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. drill — the tool
  7. chest — of your body
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. wound — an injury
  12. capital — money
  13. chest — of your body
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. chip — for betting
  17. kick — in football
  18. drill — a practice
  19. chest — a box
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. wound — an injury
  23. capital — a city
  24. fan — a supporter

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