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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. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. prune — to trim
  4. last — final
  5. prune — to trim
  6. capital — a city
  7. last — to go on
  8. race — humankind
  9. race — the arms race
  10. present — the time now
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. present — there
  13. ball — a great time
  14. pit — a hole
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. capital — money
  17. ball — a dance
  18. present — a gift
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. race — a contest
  23. last — finally
  24. pit — in a race

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