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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. capital — money
  4. cap — of ice
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. cap — a hat
  8. court — of law
  9. key — in music
  10. key — the most important part
  11. club — for golf
  12. shower — rain
  13. key — for a lock
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. capital — a city
  16. club — a group
  17. shower — to wash
  18. prune — to trim
  19. club — for dancing
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. prune — to trim
  22. court — for sport
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. cap — a lid

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