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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.

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: fine · capital · trunk · temple · bat · mine · hide · snap

  1. When was this ________________ built?
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. mine — for digging
  3. snap — to click
  4. bat — the animal
  5. fine — all right
  6. capital — a city
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. capital — money
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. fine — high quality
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. capital — a big letter

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