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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: ground · rest · drill · hide · temple · stem · capital · safe

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  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 city
  2. ground — a position
  3. capital — money
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. ground — crushed
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. drill — the tool
  12. rest — what's left
  13. ground — the earth
  14. drill — a practice
  15. rest — a break
  16. rest — what's left
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. stem — to come from
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. drill — army training
  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