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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: key · content · temple · bat · court · capital · cold · branch

  1. When was this ________________ built?
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. court — for sport
  6. capital — money
  7. cold — not warm
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. court — of a king
  10. content — the amount
  11. court — of law
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. key — for a lock
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. capital — a city
  16. key — the most important part
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. key — in music
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. cold — an illness
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. branch — a division
  23. content — happy
  24. bat — the animal

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