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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. capital — money
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. stem — to come from
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. mate — to breed
  9. spring — a coil
  10. race — a contest
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. race — humankind
  13. mate — a friend
  14. capital — a city
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. race — the arms race
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. spring — the season
  19. spring — of water
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. stem — a stem cell
  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