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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  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. capital — a city
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. court — of law
  4. ball — a great time
  5. court — of a king
  6. rock — music
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. court — for sport
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. date — the fruit
  15. ball — a dance
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. rock — a stone
  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