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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: track · cold · capital · face · safe · bound · roll · court

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  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. cold — not warm
  2. capital — a city
  3. face — part of the head
  4. roll — a cake
  5. track — to keep track
  6. track — a song
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. face — to point toward
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. roll — a list
  13. court — of law
  14. court — of a king
  15. court — for sport
  16. track — a path
  17. bound — tied together
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. bound — certain
  21. bound — obliged
  22. capital — money
  23. face — to confront
  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