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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.

Make a worksheet

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: scale · wound · sharp · prune · hide · fall · temple · capital

  1. When was this ________________ built?
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. fall — to drop
  3. wound — an injury
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. fall — to drop
  6. capital — money
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. prune — to trim
  12. scale — in music
  13. prune — to trim
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. sharp — clever
  16. wound — an injury
  17. fall — the season
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. capital — a city
  23. scale — size or range
  24. temple — a place of worship

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