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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.

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: rush · deal · bark · capital · key · temple · row · mate

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. mate — a partner
  7. key — in music
  8. row — a line
  9. key — the most important part
  10. rush — hurry
  11. key — for a lock
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. mate — a friend
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. deal — to handle
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. mate — to breed
  18. capital — money
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. capital — a city
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. bark — to shout
  23. row — to paddle
  24. deal — an agreement

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