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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: tube · tear · cold · wake · hand · pitch · temple · capital

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. capital — a city
  3. tear — from crying
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. pitch — completely
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. hand — in cards
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. tear — from crying
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. wake — a trail
  14. tube — a container
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. tear — to rip
  18. cold — not warm
  19. tube — the underground
  20. cold — an illness
  21. capital — money
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. hand — help

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