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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 116 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: leaves · cell · wake · bark · capital · safe · mate · scale

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. cell — a phone
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. wake — a trail
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. mate — a partner
  9. mate — to breed
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. cell — in biology
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. capital — money
  18. bark — to shout
  19. scale — in music
  20. scale — size or range
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. mate — a friend
  23. scale — for weighing
  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