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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: capital · cold · kid · cue · safe · branch · temple · stem

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. kid — to tease
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. cue — a hint
  6. kid — child
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. cold — an illness
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. cue — for pool
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. branch — a division
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. cold — not warm
  22. capital — money
  23. cue — a signal
  24. capital — a city

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