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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: deal · tear · coach · lash · temple · cap · capital · spring

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. spring — the season
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. capital — a city
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. tear — from crying
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. tear — to rip
  13. cap — of ice
  14. deal — to handle
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. spring — a coil
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. cap — a hat
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. spring — of water
  22. cap — a lid
  23. tear — from crying
  24. coach — a trainer

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