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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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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: pit · wound · capital · pass · squash · temple · fork · cold

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. cold — an illness
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. capital — money
  7. squash — the sport
  8. wound — an injury
  9. fork — in a road
  10. pit — in a race
  11. wound — an injury
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. cold — not warm
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. capital — a city
  20. pit — a hole
  21. pass — a permit
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. squash — to crush
  24. temple — a place of worship

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