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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: capital · current · temple · bark · cell · kid

  1. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. bark — to shout
  3. kid — to tease
  4. capital — money
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. kid — child
  7. cell — in biology
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. capital — a city
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. current — happening now
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. current — electric
  16. cell — a phone
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. temple — a place of worship

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