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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. rest — what's left
  3. court — for sport
  4. last — to go on
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. bore — to tire
  8. scale — in music
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. bore — to drill
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. last — finally
  14. wake — a trail
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. capital — money
  17. rest — what's left
  18. court — of a king
  19. scale — size or range
  20. last — final
  21. court — of law
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. rest — a break
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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