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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: rule · swing · cold · capital · temple · fine · mine · roll

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. rule — government
  5. roll — a cake
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. swing — in golf
  8. fine — all right
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. swing — to play on
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. swing — music
  14. cold — not warm
  15. mine — for digging
  16. capital — money
  17. roll — a list
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. fine — high quality
  20. capital — a city
  21. rule — a law
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. cold — an illness

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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