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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 · cap · tear · lie · foot · row · temple · cold

  1. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. cold — not warm
  4. tear — from crying
  5. tear — to rip
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. cap — a hat
  12. cap — a lid
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. cap — of ice
  15. tear — from crying
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. row — to paddle
  18. capital — money
  19. capital — a city
  20. cold — an illness
  21. row — a line
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. lie — to recline
  24. foot — part of the body

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