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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: temple · last · patient · mine · cue · can · track · capital

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. can — a tin
  5. track — a path
  6. mine — for digging
  7. can — to be able to
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. cue — for pool
  11. capital — money
  12. cue — a hint
  13. cue — a signal
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. track — a song
  16. last — finally
  17. last — to go on
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. track — to keep track
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. can — a tin
  23. capital — a city
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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