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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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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 · kid · date · squash · temple · race · scale · track

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. kid — to tease
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. date — the fruit
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. squash — the sport
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. scale — size or range
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. scale — in music
  12. race — a contest
  13. kid — child
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. track — a path
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. race — the arms race
  18. squash — to crush
  19. track — to keep track
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. capital — money
  22. track — a song
  23. capital — a city
  24. scale — for weighing

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