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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: ruler · temple · bat · cell · capital · suit · land · content

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. content — the amount
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. suit — in cards
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. cell — a phone
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. land — ground
  9. suit — to fit
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. cell — in biology
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. capital — money
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. content — happy
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. land — to come down
  19. capital — a city
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. land — a country
  24. suit — clothes

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