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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. capital — a city
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. club — for golf
  5. shower — rain
  6. shower — to wash
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. mate — a partner
  10. mate — to breed
  11. court — of law
  12. cell — in biology
  13. club — for dancing
  14. pitch — completely
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. swing — to play on
  18. swing — music
  19. mate — a friend
  20. swing — in golf
  21. club — a group
  22. cell — a phone
  23. court — of a king
  24. court — for sport

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