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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. When was this ________________ built?
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. land — to come down
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. wax — to grow
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. capital — money
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. land — a country
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. branch — a division
  19. capital — a city
  20. deal — to handle
  21. land — ground
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. temple — side of the head

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