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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. court — of law
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. capital — a city
  6. court — of a king
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. court — for sport
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. tube — the underground
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. tube — a container
  15. capital — money
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. dip — to sink
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. sharp — clever
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. pound — a weight

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