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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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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: content · swing · firm · temple · capital · chest · land · bear

  1. When was this ________________ built?
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. capital — money
  3. content — the amount
  4. land — to come down
  5. chest — a box
  6. content — happy
  7. bear — the animal
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. firm — a company
  10. swing — to play on
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. land — ground
  13. land — a country
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. swing — music
  16. chest — of your body
  17. swing — in golf
  18. chest — of your body
  19. capital — a city
  20. firm — decided
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. firm — steady
  23. bear — the animal
  24. content — videos and posts

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