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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: capital · clip · mine · saw · racket · cue · temple · ground

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. ground — crushed
  3. ground — the earth
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. mine — for digging
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. clip — a video
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. capital — a city
  10. saw — the tool
  11. ground — a position
  12. clip — for paper
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. cue — for pool
  15. saw — the tool
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. capital — money
  19. cue — a hint
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. cue — a signal
  24. clip — to cut

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