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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: temple · kid · safe · capital · pop · spell

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. pop — soda
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. pop — music
  7. capital — money
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. kid — child
  11. kid — to tease
  12. spell — letters
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. spell — a short time
  16. capital — a city
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. spell — magic

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