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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: court · date · fork · capital · cell · last · temple · drill

  1. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. last — final
  3. cell — in biology
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. court — of a king
  6. drill — a practice
  7. cell — a phone
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. drill — army training
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. last — finally
  14. court — of law
  15. capital — a city
  16. fork — in a road
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. court — for sport
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. capital — money
  22. drill — the tool
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. last — to go on

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