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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. capital — money
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. capital — a city
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. court — of a king
  8. file — a line of people
  9. net — after costs
  10. court — of law
  11. court — for sport
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. file — a document
  14. net — in sport
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. vault — a safe
  17. file — a tool
  18. vault — an arched ceiling

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