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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. last — to go on
  4. last — finally
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. sharp — clever
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. drill — a practice
  9. field — a subject
  10. present — a gift
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. present — there
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. last — final
  17. present — the time now
  18. field — farmland
  19. capital — money
  20. drill — army training
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. field — for sport
  23. drill — the tool
  24. safe — out of danger

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