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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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. chest — of your body
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. chest — a box
  6. season — of the year
  7. foot — a measure
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. rest — a break
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. fine — all right
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. capital — a city
  17. capital — money
  18. rest — what's left
  19. rest — what's left
  20. season — in sport
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. fine — high quality
  24. chest — of your body

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