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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 120 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 old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. staff — a stick
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. lean — to bend
  5. fall — the season
  6. prune — to trim
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. fall — to drop
  11. capital — a city
  12. staff — employees
  13. lean — thin
  14. hand — in cards
  15. prune — to trim
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. court — of a king
  18. court — for sport
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. hand — help
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. staff — employees
  23. capital — money
  24. fall — to drop

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