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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
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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: shower · cell · capital · bark · key · safe · spell · roll

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. shower — to wash
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. spell — a short time
  5. roll — a cake
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. cell — a phone
  8. bark — to shout
  9. roll — a list
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. key — for a lock
  12. shower — rain
  13. key — the most important part
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. cell — in biology
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. capital — money
  18. key — in music
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. spell — letters
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. spell — magic
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. capital — a city

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