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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 second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. capital — money
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. band — a ring
  6. bank — for money
  7. bank — for money
  8. band — a music group
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. rule — a law
  14. rule — government
  15. wound — an injury
  16. cold — not warm
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. bank — of a river
  22. cold — an illness
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. wound — an injury

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