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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. capital — a city
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. ground — a position
  9. chest — of your body
  10. present — there
  11. track — a song
  12. rule — a law
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. present — a gift
  15. capital — money
  16. chest — of your body
  17. track — to keep track
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. rule — government
  20. track — a path
  21. ground — crushed
  22. present — the time now
  23. chest — a box
  24. ground — the earth

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