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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 120 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: capital · safe · cold · sharp · lean · temple · rush · court

  1. When was this ________________ built?
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. rush — hurry
  3. court — of a king
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. court — for sport
  6. lean — thin
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. capital — money
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. court — of law
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. lean — to bend
  15. capital — a city
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. sharp — clever
  19. cold — not warm
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. cold — an illness
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. temple — side of the head

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