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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 120 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: wound · racket · temple · bulb · track · capital · press · deal

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. track — a path
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. track — to keep track
  11. bulb — for light
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. wound — an injury
  14. press — to push
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. capital — money
  17. track — a song
  18. wound — an injury
  19. capital — a city
  20. press — a publisher
  21. bulb — for light
  22. press — newspapers
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. deal — to handle

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