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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. fine — high quality
  3. mine — for digging
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. march — the month
  7. rock — a stone
  8. mug — a cup
  9. march — music
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. mug — to rob
  12. capital — a city
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. spring — the season
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. capital — money
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. march — the month
  20. fine — all right
  21. mug — a face
  22. spring — a coil
  23. spring — of water
  24. rock — music

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