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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: drill · temple · wound · season · pop · capital · branch · racket

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. season — of the year
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. drill — the tool
  10. drill — a practice
  11. season — in sport
  12. capital — money
  13. capital — a city
  14. wound — an injury
  15. branch — a division
  16. pop — to visit
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. drill — army training
  19. wound — an injury
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. pop — soda
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. pop — music

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