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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. court — for sport
  3. game — wild animals
  4. craft — boats
  5. band — a ring
  6. craft — a skill
  7. game — a match
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. deal — to handle
  10. chair — a leader
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. capital — money
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. court — of law
  15. capital — a city
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. land — to come down
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. land — ground
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. band — a music group
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. land — a country

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