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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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. deal — to handle
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. squash — to crush
  7. bat — the animal
  8. face — to point toward
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. capital — money
  14. court — for sport
  15. rule — government
  16. craft — a skill
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. court — of law
  19. capital — a city
  20. face — to confront
  21. face — part of the head
  22. squash — the sport
  23. craft — boats
  24. rule — a law

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