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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. lie — to recline
  3. capital — a city
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. capital — money
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. bass — low music
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. court — of law
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. cue — a signal
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. drill — army training
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. tube — a container
  16. court — of a king
  17. cue — for pool
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. cue — a hint
  20. tube — the underground
  21. drill — the tool
  22. drill — a practice
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. bass — the fish

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