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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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. court — for sport
  4. court — of a king
  5. track — a song
  6. track — a path
  7. rock — a stone
  8. capital — a city
  9. season — of the year
  10. track — to keep track
  11. capital — money
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. file — a line of people
  14. court — of law
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. game — a match
  17. game — wild animals
  18. file — a tool
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. file — a document
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. rock — music
  23. season — in sport
  24. cabinet — ministers

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