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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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. track — a path
  3. lean — to bend
  4. kick — in football
  5. court — of law
  6. capital — money
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. cell — in biology
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. shower — rain
  11. bear — the animal
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. track — to keep track
  14. cell — a phone
  15. lean — thin
  16. bear — the animal
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. track — a song
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. capital — a city
  21. court — for sport
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. court — of a king
  24. shower — to wash

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