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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: foot · wound · kid · land · temple · date · last · capital

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. wound — an injury
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. land — a country
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. last — final
  11. last — to go on
  12. foot — a measure
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. last — finally
  15. date — the fruit
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. land — ground
  19. kid — child
  20. land — to come down
  21. capital — money
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. capital — a city
  24. kid — to tease

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