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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
468
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: temple · dip · capital · kid · march · staff · game · mine

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. mine — for digging
  7. staff — a stick
  8. march — the month
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. game — wild animals
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. kid — to tease
  13. capital — money
  14. march — music
  15. kid — child
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. capital — a city
  18. march — the month
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. dip — to sink
  21. game — a match
  22. staff — employees
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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