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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 120 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 · game · fall · bay · temple · key · land · capital

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. game — wild animals
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. tear — from crying
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. land — ground
  10. capital — a city
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. land — a country
  13. key — for a lock
  14. fall — the season
  15. land — to come down
  16. key — in music
  17. capital — money
  18. tear — to rip
  19. fall — to drop
  20. game — a match
  21. key — the most important part
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. tear — from crying
  24. fall — to drop

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