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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 120 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.

Make a worksheet

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: cold · lie · capital · temple · chair · fine

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. cold — an illness
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. fine — high quality
  13. fine — all right
  14. capital — a city
  15. cold — not warm
  16. capital — money
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. lie — to recline

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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