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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: wound · safe · sharp · capital · chair · tear · bat · track

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. wound — an injury
  3. tear — from crying
  4. wound — an injury
  5. track — a path
  6. tear — from crying
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. sharp — clever
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. chair — a leader
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. bat — the animal
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. track — to keep track
  18. capital — money
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. tear — to rip
  23. capital — a city
  24. track — a song

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