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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cold · temple · stick · kick · capital · snap

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. kick — in football
  4. cold — an illness
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. capital — money
  7. snap — to click
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. capital — a city
  17. cold — not warm
  18. stick — a piece of wood

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