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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. court — of law
  3. bulb — for light
  4. court — for sport
  5. wound — an injury
  6. court — of a king
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. shower — to wash
  9. shower — rain
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. bulb — for light
  12. wound — an injury
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. capital — money
  18. wound — past of 'wind'

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