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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: cold · perch · temple · capital · fork · stick · root · hide

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. fork — in a road
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. root — the cause
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. root — of a word
  9. perch — the fish
  10. cold — not warm
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. capital — a city
  14. root — of a plant
  15. cold — an illness
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. hide — to keep secret

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