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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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. mine — for digging
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. fall — the season
  5. fall — to drop
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. bass — low music
  8. bass — the fish
  9. fall — to drop
  10. lean — thin
  11. tube — a container
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. root — of a plant
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. court — for sport
  16. root — of a word
  17. root — the cause
  18. capital — a city
  19. court — of a king
  20. capital — money
  21. lean — to bend
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. tube — the underground

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