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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. land — ground
  4. race — a contest
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. capital — money
  8. mug — a cup
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. mug — to rob
  13. stock — goods
  14. race — humankind
  15. race — the arms race
  16. capital — a city
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. mug — a face
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. land — a country
  23. stock — shares
  24. land — to come down

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