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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. object — an aim
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. swing — music
  6. court — of a king
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. wind — moving air
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. swing — to play on
  14. object — a thing
  15. wind — moving air
  16. object — to protest
  17. capital — money
  18. court — for sport
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. swing — in golf
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. court — of law

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