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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · perch · safe · capital · cold · straw · tube · nail

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. land — to come down
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. perch — the fish
  9. land — ground
  10. tube — the underground
  11. cold — not warm
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. capital — money
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. land — a country
  18. tube — a container
  19. cold — an illness
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. safe — out of danger

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