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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: capital · bound · temple · sharp · jam · prune · fine · drill

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. bound — certain
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. prune — to trim
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. capital — money
  7. capital — a city
  8. sharp — clever
  9. bound — tied together
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. fine — all right
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. bound — obliged
  16. prune — to trim
  17. drill — the tool
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. drill — army training
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. drill — a practice
  24. fine — high quality

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