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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. capital — a city
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. court — of a king
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. field — for sport
  7. court — of law
  8. staff — employees
  9. staff — a stick
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. staff — employees
  12. field — farmland
  13. land — a country
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. land — to come down
  16. lean — to bend
  17. lean — thin
  18. capital — money
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. field — a subject
  24. court — for sport

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