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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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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 · capital · snap · pitch · bound · wind · saw · shower

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. wind — moving air
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. bound — tied together
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. snap — to click
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. shower — to wash
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. bound — obliged
  14. saw — the tool
  15. capital — money
  16. bound — certain
  17. wind — moving air
  18. capital — a city
  19. saw — the tool
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. shower — rain
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. pitch — a sports field

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