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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 120 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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. capital — money
  3. court — of law
  4. chest — a box
  5. court — of a king
  6. bass — low music
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. perch — the fish
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. bass — the fish
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. land — to come down
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. track — to keep track
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chest — of your body
  20. land — ground
  21. land — a country
  22. track — a song
  23. track — a path
  24. capital — a city

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