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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: hand · wound · key · net · temple · race · wave · capital

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. net — for catching
  3. key — for a lock
  4. net — in sport
  5. key — in music
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. hand — in cards
  12. race — the arms race
  13. race — humankind
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. hand — help
  16. race — a contest
  17. key — the most important part
  18. wound — an injury
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. capital — money
  21. net — after costs
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. capital — a big letter
  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