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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. file — a document
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. capital — a city
  7. band — a ring
  8. capital — money
  9. land — ground
  10. band — a music group
  11. last — to go on
  12. chair — a leader
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. land — to come down
  16. last — final
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. file — a tool
  21. land — a country
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. file — a line of people
  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