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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. fine — high quality
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. rule — a law
  5. prune — to trim
  6. mine — for digging
  7. capital — money
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. fine — all right
  13. prune — to trim
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. rule — government
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. temple — side of the head

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