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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. When was this ________________ built?
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. last — finally
  4. drill — a practice
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. rash — a series
  7. file — a line of people
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. drill — the tool
  10. bark — to shout
  11. fine — high quality
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. last — to go on
  14. drill — army training
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. fine — all right
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. file — a document
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. rash — hasty
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. last — final
  23. capital — money
  24. file — a tool

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