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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. cold — an illness
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. cold — not warm
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. capital — a city
  8. cap — a hat
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. capital — money
  12. cap — of ice
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. drill — army training
  16. drill — a practice
  17. drill — the tool
  18. cell — a phone
  19. cap — a lid
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. vault — a safe
  23. bark — to shout
  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