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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. land — to come down
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. land — a country
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. squash — the sport
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. deal — to handle
  11. capital — money
  12. wound — an injury
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. land — ground
  15. capital — a city
  16. squash — to crush
  17. wound — an injury
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. court — of law
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. court — of a king
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  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