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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. prune — to trim
  6. kid — to tease
  7. kid — child
  8. rash — a series
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. prune — to trim
  11. last — to go on
  12. capital — a city
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. fork — in a road
  16. capital — money
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. last — finally
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. last — final
  23. mine — for digging
  24. fork — a garden tool

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