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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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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: mate · shower · root · capital · racket · temple · fall · lie

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. root — the cause
  5. fall — to drop
  6. shower — rain
  7. capital — money
  8. fall — to drop
  9. lie — to recline
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. fall — the season
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. capital — a city
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. root — of a plant
  20. mate — a partner
  21. root — of a word
  22. mate — a friend
  23. shower — to wash
  24. lie — an untruth

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