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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. pass — a permit
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. capital — a city
  6. cue — for pool
  7. capital — money
  8. net — in sport
  9. press — newspapers
  10. court — for sport
  11. cue — a signal
  12. court — of a king
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. season — of the year
  15. press — to push
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. cue — a hint
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. press — a publisher
  20. fork — in a road
  21. net — for catching
  22. season — in sport
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. net — after costs

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