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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. capital — a city
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. rock — music
  5. cap — of ice
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. cap — a lid
  8. rock — a stone
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. capital — money
  12. board — a committee
  13. bat — the animal
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. cap — a hat
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. kick — in football
  23. branch — a division
  24. board — to get on

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