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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. When was this ________________ built?
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. mine — for digging
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. capital — a city
  11. sharp — clever
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. foot — a measure
  16. capital — money
  17. rush — hurry
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. pitch — completely

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