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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 120 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: ground · row · fan · arm · cell · wind · safe · capital

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. cell — a phone
  4. row — a line
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. wind — moving air
  8. ground — crushed
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. cell — in biology
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. capital — money
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. ground — the earth
  17. wind — moving air
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. ground — a position
  21. capital — a city
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. row — to paddle

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