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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: safe · pound · pit · capital · wound · toast · press · land

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. wound — an injury
  4. land — ground
  5. pit — a hole
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. land — to come down
  8. pit — in a race
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. wound — an injury
  12. press — to push
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. capital — money
  18. press — a publisher
  19. capital — a city
  20. pound — a weight
  21. press — newspapers
  22. land — a country
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. pound — for dogs

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