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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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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: chair · pound · rock · dip · bat · capital · safe · cold

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. cold — not warm
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. rock — a stone
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. capital — a city
  10. dip — to sink
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. rock — music
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. chair — a leader
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. pound — a weight
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. bat — the animal
  24. cold — an illness

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