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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 116 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: mug · hand · capital · bat · net · safe · kick · wound

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. hand — help
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. mug — a cup
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. bat — the animal
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. hand — in cards
  9. net — in sport
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. kick — in football
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. mug — to rob
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. net — for catching
  16. capital — money
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. capital — a city
  19. wound — an injury
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. mug — a face
  22. net — after costs
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. capital — a big letter

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