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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: ruler · can · drill · capital · wind · snap · tube · temple

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. tube — the underground
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. wind — moving air
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. capital — a city
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. wind — moving air
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. drill — army training
  12. can — a tin
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. tube — a container
  15. drill — the tool
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. can — a tin
  18. snap — to click
  19. drill — a practice
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. capital — money
  22. can — to be able to
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. temple — a place of worship

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