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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: temple · race · pitch · capital · pit · mine

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. pit — in a race
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. capital — money
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. pit — a hole
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. pitch — completely
  11. race — a contest
  12. mine — for digging
  13. race — humankind
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. capital — a city
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. race — the arms race
  18. mine — belonging to me

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