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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: wake · temple · pound · object · capital · chair · suit · mine

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. mine — for digging
  3. chair — a leader
  4. object — a thing
  5. suit — to fit
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. object — an aim
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. capital — money
  11. pound — a weight
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. capital — a city
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. object — to protest
  16. suit — clothes
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. wake — a trail
  19. suit — in cards
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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