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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: tear · temple · last · file · capital · kick · swing · spring

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. last — to go on
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. last — finally
  5. file — a document
  6. kick — in football
  7. spring — the season
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. tear — from crying
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. last — final
  14. capital — money
  15. swing — to play on
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. tear — from crying
  18. file — a line of people
  19. swing — music
  20. spring — a coil
  21. tear — to rip
  22. capital — a city
  23. file — a tool
  24. swing — in golf

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