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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: rush · ground · last · kid · capital · drill · safe · bat

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. last — final
  5. ground — a position
  6. ground — crushed
  7. last — to go on
  8. capital — a city
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. last — finally
  11. capital — money
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. drill — army training
  14. drill — the tool
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. kid — child
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. ground — the earth
  20. rush — hurry
  21. drill — a practice
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. kid — to tease
  24. bat — for baseball

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