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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: temple · capital · last · cue · bear · wave · fan · march

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. last — finally
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. cue — a hint
  7. last — to go on
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. capital — a city
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. march — the month
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. cue — for pool
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. march — music
  16. last — final
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. capital — money
  20. march — the month
  21. bear — the animal
  22. bear — the animal
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. cue — a signal

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