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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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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: safe · last · object · capital · mouse · branch · cold · file

  1. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. file — a tool
  4. last — to go on
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. last — finally
  7. capital — money
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. file — a document
  10. capital — a city
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. object — an aim
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. cold — an illness
  16. cold — not warm
  17. file — a line of people
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. object — to protest
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. branch — a division
  24. last — final

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