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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: pitch · mate · mine · straw · perch · temple · current · capital

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. current — happening now
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. pitch — completely
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. mate — a partner
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. perch — the fish
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. mate — a friend
  13. current — of water
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. mine — for digging
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. current — electric
  18. capital — a city
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. mate — to breed
  24. straw — dry grass

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