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

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. court — for sport
  3. scale — size or range
  4. bore — to tire
  5. last — to go on
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. last — finally
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. bore — to drill
  10. last — final
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. rest — a break
  13. court — of law
  14. court — of a king
  15. rest — what's left
  16. capital — a city
  17. rest — what's left
  18. scale — in music

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