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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  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. coach — pulled by horses
  2. stem — to come from
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. capital — a city
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. ball — a great time
  9. court — of law
  10. court — of a king
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. court — for sport
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. ball — a dance
  17. snap — to click
  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