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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: kid · capital · safe · leaves · pitch · hand · track · sharp

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. track — to keep track
  3. hand — in cards
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. sharp — clever
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. capital — a city
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. track — a path
  12. track — a song
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. capital — money
  15. kid — to tease
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. kid — child
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. hand — help
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. pitch — completely
  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