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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. ground — crushed
  3. court — of a king
  4. band — a music group
  5. capital — a city
  6. cue — a hint
  7. court — of law
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. ground — the earth
  10. band — a ring
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. face — to point toward
  13. face — part of the head
  14. cue — for pool
  15. cue — a signal
  16. ground — a position
  17. face — to confront
  18. capital — money

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