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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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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 · mouse · rash · firm · face · temple · cell · wind

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. cell — in biology
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. wind — moving air
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. face — to confront
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. rash — a series
  11. firm — decided
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. cell — a phone
  16. rash — hasty
  17. face — part of the head
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. capital — a city
  20. wind — moving air
  21. face — to point toward
  22. firm — a company
  23. capital — money
  24. capital — a big letter

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