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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. court — of a king
  3. pit — a hole
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. capital — a city
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. swing — in golf
  11. cell — a phone
  12. mark — a grade
  13. court — for sport
  14. mark — a trace
  15. root — of a word
  16. pit — in a race
  17. root — of a plant
  18. swing — to play on
  19. root — the cause
  20. court — of law
  21. bark — to shout
  22. capital — money
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. swing — music

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