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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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Word bank
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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: mine · chair · club · cell · capital · temple

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. chair — a leader
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. capital — a city
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. mine — for digging
  11. cell — a phone
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. cell — in biology
  14. capital — money
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. club — for dancing
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. club — a group

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