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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: tear · shower · cold · club · temple · safe · mouse · capital

  1. When was this ________________ built?
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. capital — a city
  6. capital — money
  7. shower — to wash
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. club — for dancing
  12. shower — rain
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — to rip
  15. club — for golf
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. club — a group
  18. cold — an illness
  19. tear — from crying
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. cold — not warm
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. safe — out of danger

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