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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.

Make a worksheet

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 · season · wind · pop · saw · last · temple · lie

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. pop — to visit
  4. last — to go on
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. wind — moving air
  9. saw — the tool
  10. last — finally
  11. capital — a city
  12. last — final
  13. season — in sport
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. pop — music
  17. pop — soda
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. capital — money
  21. lie — to recline
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. saw — the tool
  24. season — of the year

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