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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. court — of a king
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. capital — a city
  10. court — of law
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. capital — money
  13. court — for sport
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. lean — to bend
  16. drill — a practice
  17. drill — the tool
  18. lean — thin
  19. drill — army training
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. toast — bread
  23. kid — to tease
  24. fan — to cool the air

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