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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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. hand — in cards
  3. court — of law
  4. prune — to trim
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. hand — help
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. capital — a city
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. capital — money
  12. land — to come down
  13. land — ground
  14. land — a country
  15. court — for sport
  16. squash — to crush
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. court — of a king
  19. squash — the sport
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. prune — to trim
  23. stand — to bear
  24. squash — the vegetable

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