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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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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: shower · temple · hide · bark · wave · content · firm · capital

  1. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. content — happy
  3. firm — a company
  4. firm — decided
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. content — the amount
  10. shower — to wash
  11. bark — to shout
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. firm — steady
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. capital — a city
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. capital — money
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. shower — rain
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. hide — to keep secret

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