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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 · capital · march · staff · rush · swing · hide · tube

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. swing — to play on
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. march — the month
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. rush — hurry
  11. staff — employees
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. staff — employees
  14. tube — a container
  15. swing — in golf
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. tube — the underground
  18. staff — a stick
  19. capital — money
  20. swing — music
  21. march — music
  22. march — the month
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. temple — side of the head

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