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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. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. capital — money
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. bound — certain
  8. saw — the tool
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. pound — a weight
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. row — a line
  16. bound — obliged
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. row — to paddle
  19. capital — a city
  20. bound — tied together
  21. cell — a phone
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. cell — in biology
  24. saw — the tool

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