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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 120 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. capital — a city
  6. capital — money
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. club — for dancing
  10. row — to paddle
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. club — a group
  13. row — a line
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. club — for golf
  18. pitcher — in 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