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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. When was this ________________ built?
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. firm — decided
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. cap — of ice
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. cap — a lid
  7. cold — an illness
  8. firm — a company
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. firm — steady
  14. board — to get on
  15. wake — a trail
  16. board — a committee
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. cold — not warm
  19. capital — a city
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. cap — a hat
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. capital — money

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