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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 120 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. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. mug — a face
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. capital — money
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. last — final
  9. mug — to rob
  10. saw — the tool
  11. race — humankind
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. mug — a cup
  17. race — the arms race
  18. capital — a city
  19. wax — to grow
  20. last — to go on
  21. saw — the tool
  22. last — finally
  23. race — a contest
  24. calf — a young animal

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