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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. capital — a city
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. shower — to wash
  6. fine — high quality
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. spell — magic
  9. craft — a skill
  10. staff — employees
  11. root — of a word
  12. spell — letters
  13. staff — a stick
  14. root — of a plant
  15. shower — rain
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. craft — boats
  18. spell — a short time
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. fine — all right
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. capital — money
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. root — the cause

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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