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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: cell · bound · temple · fork · tear · spring · capital · kick

  1. When was this ________________ built?
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. capital — money
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. kick — in football
  6. tear — from crying
  7. bound — tied together
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. bound — certain
  10. spring — the season
  11. bound — obliged
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. spring — a coil
  14. cell — in biology
  15. spring — of water
  16. capital — a city
  17. tear — to rip
  18. fork — in a road
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. cell — a phone
  22. tear — from crying
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. temple — a place of worship

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