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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: pop · arm · spring · capital · fall · temple · rest · file

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. pop — to visit
  3. pop — soda
  4. file — a line of people
  5. spring — of water
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. spring — the season
  8. rest — a break
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. capital — a city
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. fall — to drop
  14. rest — what's left
  15. file — a document
  16. spring — a coil
  17. pop — music
  18. rest — what's left
  19. capital — money
  20. file — a tool
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. fall — to drop
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. arm — a part of something

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