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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: wax · key · capital · pit · temple · mine · cold · toast

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. pit — in a race
  4. capital — money
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. cold — not warm
  7. toast — bread
  8. capital — a city
  9. wax — to grow
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. cold — an illness
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. key — for a lock
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. pit — a hole
  17. key — in music
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. key — the most important part
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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