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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. kid — to tease
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. bank — for money
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. capital — money
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. kid — child
  12. bank — of a river
  13. cell — a phone
  14. capital — a city
  15. bank — for money
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. season — in sport
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. object — an aim
  20. sharp — clever
  21. cell — in biology
  22. object — to protest
  23. season — of the year
  24. 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