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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: tear · race · cold · wound · capital · toast · temple · bay

  1. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — to keep at bay
  2. capital — money
  3. wound — an injury
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. capital — a city
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. race — the arms race
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. tear — to rip
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. cold — an illness
  16. tear — from crying
  17. race — a contest
  18. tear — from crying
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. wound — an injury
  22. toast — bread
  23. race — humankind
  24. cold — not warm

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