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

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. fine — all right
  5. shower — rain
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. shower — to wash
  9. pound — a weight
  10. chest — of your body
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. fine — high quality
  13. capital — a city
  14. chest — of your body
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. capital — money
  18. temple — a place of worship

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