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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. capital — a city
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. capital — money
  11. last — final
  12. firm — a company
  13. kid — child
  14. firm — steady
  15. last — finally
  16. wake — a trail
  17. firm — decided
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. last — to go on

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