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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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. capital — money
  5. game — a match
  6. deal — to handle
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. pitch — completely
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. press — newspapers
  11. capital — a city
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. game — wild animals
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. court — of law
  17. press — a publisher
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. sharp — clever
  20. press — to push
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. court — of a king
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. sharp — with an edge

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