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

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. court — for sport
  3. capital — a city
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. court — of law
  6. fine — high quality
  7. shower — rain
  8. tube — the underground
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. shower — to wash
  11. tube — a container
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. capital — money
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. court — of a king
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. deal — to handle
  18. fine — all right

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