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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: straw · band · capital · kick · mug · arm · cold · temple

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. mug — a cup
  4. mug — to rob
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. cold — an illness
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. kick — in football
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. band — a music group
  12. capital — money
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. cold — not warm
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. mug — a face
  23. band — a ring
  24. capital — a city

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