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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 120 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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. staff — a stick
  3. capital — money
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. cap — of ice
  8. bark — to shout
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. cap — a hat
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. staff — employees
  14. cold — an illness
  15. cap — a lid
  16. mate — a partner
  17. cold — not warm
  18. capital — a city
  19. mate — a friend
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. mate — to breed
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. racket — for tennis

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