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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: land · tube · foot · capital · cold · safe · kid · scale

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  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. cold — the Cold War
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. land — ground
  4. capital — money
  5. tube — a container
  6. land — a country
  7. scale — size or range
  8. foot — a measure
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. cold — an illness
  11. scale — in music
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. tube — the underground
  14. kid — to tease
  15. kid — child
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. land — to come down
  19. cold — not warm
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. capital — a city
  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