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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. court — of law
  3. fall — to drop
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. rule — a law
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. capital — money
  10. fall — to drop
  11. shower — rain
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. rule — government
  14. fall — the season
  15. court — of a king
  16. capital — a city
  17. shower — to wash
  18. bowl — a football final

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